Open Evening stresses!

[Piggywaspushed]

I work in a large secondary school. We have two open evenings coming up : one main school and one sixth form on two consecutive Thursdays .

School day finishes 3.10 pm as normal and the evenings start at 5 for three hours. Not all of us need to be at both but many do.

Work life balance!!??? hahahahahahhahhaaahhhaha! I actually dodn't think many of our SLT have children between 0 - 16 and a full time working spouse. Most hods and hofs have grown children, no children or SAHPs as partners... I, on the other hand , am a FT working mother with a FT fellow teacher DH. I thought it would get easier as my DCs got older but it really hasn't.

Anyone want to compare/play Top Trumps/ gloat?

DH (largeish private school) has two Saturday Open Mornings but only needs to attend one and he doesn't need to go to the sixth form evening.

Foxsox - exactly.

I dare say most teachers love open days once they are underway. Selling the school and department to prospective parents, and looking on with pride as your students do their bit.

In terms of demands on time, do they really deviate significantly from parents' evenings?

I used to teach 5 out of 6 year groups. Parents evening every single Thursday for 5 weeks....

Parents' evenings are better than open evenings because you can sit down for them. Also, I become overly self-conscious about my arms when I'm not talking to a parent at Open Evening. Hanging by my side feels wrong, but crossed looks defensive and unwelcoming and hands in pockets too slovenly. I have thought way too much about this over the past decade of Open Evenings. Boring.

Oh noble that did so make me laugh!! Much the same in my dept...

They don't , no, Fffion - at some point I'll no doubt moan about them, too.... it's the bit that those who bang on about teachers being slackers and our holidays etc don't get. I once had a friend who thought we were paid overtime...

I think parents' evenings are maybe more 'focused' but as a core subject teacher, I am often far busier at those than some staff who have a few appointments . But they are draining, too, and often in consecutive weeks. My DH has a ridiculous number of those as they have two for every year group,

You need some props, noble.

God at least my school spaces out parents' evenings, they're at least two if not more weeks apart. Consecutive weeks would be awful, and whoever decided two for every year group should be garotted with a copy of the directed time calendar.

True sitting down was a plus. But 5 consecutive weeks and then teaching on the Friday was a killer term.

I kind of liked open evenings as I used to get all passionate about my subject. Parents evenings I'd panic if get the wrong parent/got bored of saying the same thing a zillion times!

Good point about the perception of teachers being slackers. How does this thread destroy that perception?

My DH (not a teacher) has had late commitments at work for two evenings for the last three weeks, and has worked a whole weekend. He is not on Mumsnet (thankfully), but I can't recall any threads by professionals moaning about having to work late occasionally. Some even have to work late on the spur of the moment and don't have it in their diary for a year.

The reality is that Staffroom is an open forum, and if you want to vent, it comes at a cost. Not everyone is sympathetic to the plight of teachers so it is not a good idea to make it worse.

JMO

Aren't parents' evenings usually spaced out according to need? Y7 settling in, Y11 kick up the backside, Y9 options, Y10 reflecting on the year...

I can't imagine wanting all of them in the same half term.

We used to do two nights in succession. Thankfully just one now.

Fffion - I am not sure there are any other forums specifically for certain professionals but have certainly come across threads by nurse/ GPs etc bemoaning their lot.

I think this thread illustrates how exhausted teachers are and how much extra is expected of them actually... which is hardly slacking.

It is an open forum indeed but it feels like you came on here to jump down our throats.

I went away for a while as I had to go and pick up DS1 from his own open evening.

I don't know but I could infer that your DH is handsomely remunerated in his role. And probably gets more than lukewarm tea in a polystyrene cup and a stale biccie!

I have a meeting form 1.15 - 5.15 next week the day before open evening. Announced today ; not in my diary for a year. I'll live. Just.

piggy you get tea and a biscuit at open evening? You don't know you're born!

How can you be so exhausted 4 weeks into term? Seriously?

Because this is a bloody hard term?

yup. You really do have no idea. Fall asleep in my chair at about 9.15 every night.

Really? First week or two, no marking. Docile Y7s, motivated Y10/11s.

Most of the time, just getting on with it. Save the exhaustion for March.

Noble I was being optimistic. We won't. That's parents' evenings. Open Evening consists of Haribos.

Yeah Fffion, I totally don't recognise your description of the past few weeks.

Fffion have you ever taught?!

It is truly the most knackering term of them all. I used to envy some Scottish schools with a 2 week half term as that's exactly when we needed it!!

Fffion we would not get away with no marking. All my classes did assessments in the first week. Again, you have no idea.
No year 7 at my school. Year 10 been doing GCSEs since way back so honeymoon over and they are hormonal. Year 11s stressed.

You mark in the first week? How, if you haven't taught them and set homework?

That must be new in Scotland. We had half terms (mid term breaks) of two days - a long weekend.

You get tea and a biscuit at Parents' Evenings? You don't know you're born!

We used to get tea at parents' evenings, the PTA used to arrange it. That was a loooong time ago. We normally bring haribo in for OE, you just know you're going to take a chewy one and a parent will immediately ask you an involved question about stretching the most able.

Fffion - you really aren’t a teacher - are you?

Ah, Scotland. Blame Wee Nippy for all your woes.