Awful middle class parents in SW London destroying teachers lives

[zas1]

My DB teaches at a private school in SW London. He desperately wants to leave as he says the expectations of the parents and their constant harassment are destroying his professional quality of life. So so so sad..

[lorelei9]

well, zas, that makes sense but don't go slagging off groups of 8million people and then expect us to not stand up for ourselves.

[captainfarrell]

OP I'd shut this down. Pupils have no hope if this is how the adults behave! Good luck to your DB, he is not the only one to feel this way.

[lorelei9]

PS I think what teachers and schools are expected to do is too much generally tbh but it was hardly worth mentioning in the context of how you ran the thread.

[zas1]

lorelei I don't agree with your criticisms and I do think this was an issue well worth highlighting.

[lorelei9]

zas, I didn't criticise anyone?

[DuchessOfWeaseltown]

It's all reminded me, actually, that my brother had a long-term relationship with a working-class, extremely socialist girl from Doncaster.

She broke up with him in the most unpleasant way, and all her (similarly-backgrounded) friends, who had been jointly friends with him too, cut him out of their lives, leaving him quite friendless, lonely, and very depressed for months in his 20s.

By your reckoning I should be saying that I hate Doncaster and everyone in it, they're a bunch of socialist working-class wankers who spend money on flat caps and dog racing and warm pints. That I never want to go there and not a single person who lives there is worth crossing the road to piss on if they were on fire.

I, er, don't think this.

This despite the fact I've never actually met anyone else from Doncaster to prove otherwise.

I just assume some of them are lovely, some dreadful, most just fine.

If your point was to make a wider point about the house pricing crisis in London (which I don't think it was, I think you've just sort of segued that way because your initial posts about your brother's health and the vile Londoners in general who had caused it were quite rightly argued down), then that't a different matter. House prices are nuts. True. I don't think it's the same issue as the one your first raised, though.

[zas1]

I took what you said as criticism of the thread and I did not agree with it. I am entitled to disagree with you as much as you are with me.

[ilovesooty]

zas the poster who said that has never had a permanent teaching post. Take no notice.

[FixItUpChappie]

You don't seem to have a lot of direct experience with the things that are upsetting you so very much OP. Lots of..."I've heard" statements, sweeping generalization. sometimes when people relay things to us they exaggerate, omit information, are not impartial, are only speaking from their individual experience.....you know that right?

I've worked with children and parents for 20 years - The middle-class are hardly the only group that has some unpleasant parents.

[AuntieStella]

zas1 I agree, your DBro needs to leave this job in this school.

That doesn't necessarily mean he needs to either leave teaching altogether (he could teach elsewhere, and as pointed out earlier in the thread if he prefers the private sector there are plenty of other schools in his area and they are not all crappy like his current one) or leave London (he could look for a job in a completely different line of work where he is, as London employment is somewhat more buoyant than many other places).

Only he can choose.

And presumably he likes London rather better than you do, as that's where he's chosen to be so far. I hope you'll support him wherever his next choices take him.

[lorelei9]

oh zas, I thought you meant I'd criticised a group of people as you criticised Londoners

yes, I think the way you steered this thread is crazy and does nothing to help highlight the issue of teachers and their workloads.

[zas1]

Duchess I am well aware that there are welladjusted and unpleasant people in all locales. I don't for one moment think that there is anything wrong with pointing out that there IS imo a specific problem with a subset of people in a particular social group who make certain choices. If I get 1000 people all "arguing me down"I will still believe this. And I am sorry btw to hear of your DB'S bad experiences.

[Run247]

This is all about your jealousy of Londoners, right? Is the story about your brother even real?

[zas1]

I don't "steer" threads. I post what I feel and so do other people.

[DuchessOfWeaseltown]

OK, zas, you're obviously entitled to your opinion, just as we SW Londoners are entitled to ours, and to stand up for ourselves

In all seriousness I do v much hope your brother can continue to teach if that's what he wants to do and that he can find an environment where he is happier and healthier doing so.

[zas1]

Run. I am not in any way jealous of Londoners and yes, sadly the story IS real. What an offensive post.

[lorelei9]

oooh, Duchess!!

I feel the need to point out I am a Norf Londoner and therefore a better person than you

seriously, part of the reason I laughed at the title is that my best friend lives near Clapham, in a flat smaller than mine, and just wouldn't recognise the sweeping generalisations here. (and yes, she does ask if I have my passport when I'm en route)

[longtimelurker101]

I don't think you can hold the moral high ground on offensive posts.


Pot meet Kettle...

[Run247]

"Offensive" is mouthing off about eight million people for a completely invalid reason. I'm from SW London and find your comments throughout this thread offensive.

[Ripeningapples]

As a former SW,London Indy parent who had an au-pair, drove a 4x4, lived in a slightly more than crappy house and who is still on social terms with some of the children's former teachers, I think there's some unspeakable rudeness on this thread.

[DuchessOfWeaseltown]

lorelei

Honestly, you shoudl hear my DH (born and bred SW London) getting started on those dreadful North Londoners (despite the fact our joint best friend is a North Londoner - parallel lives I seem to live with you) - according to DH the driving standards in North London are diabolical compared with the serenity of driving in South London

I have to say it's not a difference I've noticed...

[zas1]

I think suggesting that I invented this whole story when at one point I was told my DB was considering ending his life is.more offensive than anything I posted here

[captainfarrell]

Quite zas but you won't win this. The knives are out!

[zas1]

I don't care about "winning", who decides that anyway. Say what you like I will not back down

[longtimelurker101]

Well, the way you were terribly vague about the circumstances and then very quickly began making attacks on Londoners may have led some to question the truthfulness of your account.

You actually still haven't said anything really that stuff about pressure to get grades, well that is what teaching is like these days, in all schools.