Shit day work stories

[BeauMirchoff]

I have had a really shit day at work. Spilled coffee on my lap and burned myself, my y11 behaved like idiots (which actually made me think - what's the point of all this? They don't want to learn!) and I had a really unpleasant conversation with a parent.
Misery likes company so...tell me about your shit day!

Reading some of your stories with horror and sadness. I don't think I appreciate how lucky I am in my school (independent). The poster who didn't even have time to go to the loo!

I left my A Level set to pop down to get some photocopying done for them and when I got back they were not texting or sleeping but arguing about narrative point of view in the text we're studying...Have had two emails handing in work, both signed off with "hope you're having a lovely weekend"...Never required to come in over the holidays for extra classes...

I think I do need to remember, when I'm being grumpy about my marking pile, how much worse it could be.

Oh I forgot to mention that some of my 11s handed in their summer homework on post-its.
Pass me the

This thread has made me feel a bit better about my Year 9 class. My HoD is popping in on lessons to keep an eye on them, hasn't seen anything to concern her yet but I know she never sees me at my best with them!

How has today been them everyone? Better than last week? I really hope this week is a better one for all of us.

I managed to avoid a scene about litter in my classroom after break by locking them out of my classroom. They responded by leaving litter all along the corridor to my room and the icing on the cake was the litter tucked behind the door handle. Grrrrrr.

My cold is a lot better, so I feel better able to cope with the tons of work I need to do this week.

DH today - is Dep Head in secondary.
Arrived 7.55 for 8.00am meeting
8.30 fight between 2 Y11 boys- about 50 crowded round. Was over a girl at a party on Saturday who one had bought alcohol for on the understanding she would give him a blow job and she had given it to the other one.
Taught P1 and 2
Break duty- fight between two Y9 girls over rumours on social networking at the weekend.
Saw parents of Y11s P 3 and 4. Not helpful.
Lunch duty.
Taught P5 and 7
Staff CPD at end of day 3.30-4.30
SLT 4.30-6.00pm

Is tired and grumpy.

Me "I saw you kick him."
Y7 "No I didn't!"
Me "Yes you did. I saw you. WITH MY EYES."
Rest of day was ok though.
Apart from 1 year 9. Apparently not doing any work and refusing to sit in the classroom is not worth a detention and said sanction is therefore 'bullshit'.
But the other 148 children I taught today were lovely. ☺️

Well there can't be another Ofsted phone call, so everything is more rosy. School and my HOD were very sympathetic today following a family bereavement and let me leave early this afternoon to sort out my DCs. The students were absolutely fine, even my challenging Y9s.

I’m pastoral and over the past week we’ve had ofsted, parents evening, I’ve done several exclusions, and been sworn and shouted at. Still smiling (although through gritted teeth at points).

Oh I forgot the head injury whilst I was on break duty but all was fine.

8am SLT meeting
8.30 gate duty , parent crying on my shoulder about ss involvement
9am taking assembly
9.30 dealing with children sent to me from classes and another upset parent.
10am start back to back meetings with school direct trainees
11am lesson obs
11.45 behaviour meeting
12.00 lunch duty til 1.00
1.10 teach til 3.15
3.15 asked to help mediate between two members of staff
3.45 late to flt meeting due to above
4.30
Help head with creating new planning
5.30 ate my lunch !

This Was Actually a quiet day.

Goodness! Some of your days sound awful
One girl really upset me today. I really need to develop thicker skin counting the days until half term!

A thick skin is good Beau. It takes time to develop though, so don't beat yourself up about taking things personally, it's normal.

My day today has been fine. No drama at all. It's been busy but manageable and reasonably calm.

I had one of those lessons that just unravelled bit by bit today. I got cross because the students asked me to go through the homework, which is normally fine, but I am starting to suspect that some of them are looking at it, deciding they can't do it, and taking the easy option of leaving it to me to explain (KS5) rather than having a bash at it. And going through homework questions in major detail is eating into my teaching time, which is making me feel SoW stress.

Then I somehow made hard work of a relatively simple concept and got lots of blank stares followed by general helplessness (not all of them!). It just irritated me more than usual today.

Then I had a Year 13 lesson and although they got it, I don't feel as if I did a clear job of teaching it.

On the plus side, Year 9 were ok last lesson and I even enjoyed it!

I've got a cold. A very bad cold.
Someone pity me please! 🤧

I pity you Grundy - hope you feel better soon!

I do take off my hat to you all, especially my son's Y1 teacher.
However my DM is in her 70s and was a maths and computer studies teacher starting in the 70s.
Before she qualified she taught for buttons in a girls school for the nice but dim. All the girls cared about was their elocution/drama/getting a husband lessons. She had a teaching qualification from her home country and her degree was from a world top 100 university. She was asked if "that's like an O level".
After her PGCE she was in a rough comp in a Midlands city. Various projectiles thrown at her, and the ability level included the boy who copied his computer cards (those old program things they took to the city mainframe to be read as they had no computer in the school) including the copy-ee's name.
She definitely had marking to do. I used to help her with the multiple choice ones (no scanners) and when older with first year secondary.
Then she changed to home tuition. She loved the primary pupils with broken legs but the children with MH issues who pulled out a knife... Not so much.
And the ones that were excluded, she used to classify their houses as "safe to go to the loo, or not".
She was an excellent home tutor, of course they scrapped the service, too expensive. She used to get parents saying "nobody else ever made him do no work" and the like. Parents who've probably only ever sworn at teachers, buying her presents.

@OneOfTheGrundys I hope you feel better soon!
Ugh, I hate my year 11. They just don't care at all. I spend hours planning their lessons but I think I care more about their education than they do 😑

That's it. I'm ready to leave teaching.
I nearly killed myself during the pgce. And it was all for nothing.

We had the call from Audit today. New to the role HT started in Sept so he won't have a clue. Argh.

@thatdearoctopus 8! Like...in primary school?! How awful. What happened???

Actually, that's probably quite outing. Might ask for it to be pulled.