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.

There's got to be a word for it, like mansplaining. Telling teachers how to do their job when you actually know fuck-all.

fffionminating?

Piggy,

Everyone's job is marketing, and school is a business.

Oh god they're still here talking tosh.

Thank you.

Will bear that in mind.

My DF is a marketing professor so I'll run that by him too as he may not know.

piggy

Someone's going to mention the real world soon I'm sure.

Assume - makes an ass of u and me.

I don't really care about what people say about me - shoot the messenger by all means. But complaining about such trivial things wins no sympathetic votes.

Lots of professionals work long hours that gouge into family time. A lot of this is short notice, unlike open evenings and parents evenings.

Teaching has an intensity that isn't found in other professions, i.e. Being ruled by the clock and calendar. But the upside is the holidays. You can't get your hair done whenever you like, but you have a fair few weeks when you don't have to beg for time off.

I am always amazed the hostility to these basic facts, and the lack of empathy to other professions.

I lost it somewhere around the 'how do you have marking already'.

I'm in primary - mark every lesson's work for the next lesson in that subject, so daily for English & Maths, at least weekly for every other subject. Averages at around 90 books per night, though a bad day can bring in 150.

We have marked from Day 1 - because it has to be marked for day 2. That's how it works.

I've just got in from open evening. I'm freaking exhausted. Thank you all for making me laugh.

@noble. You retain your place as my favourite mumsnetter.

Ah Open Evening. When we spend our time rearranging the desks so that the most visible penises are facing the wall and get out a bunch of equipment that hasn't been seen since last Open Evening. I think most of the maths teachers staffing it could be replaced by a leaflet saying 'We set them by November half term'.

@Ffion - staff room threads usually tail off after 7-8 posts so thank you for keeping it going. I love a good teacher bash. It makes me feel all protective and remember that I love my profession.

Where oh where is my lack of 'empathy' for other professions?? I NEVER do other jobs down. that was you.

Was your open evening uplifting?

Must have been naval gazing, Piggy. "Woe is me for having to work late".

I love noble too.

navel.

Whoops.

Ffion, I actually think that the intensity is nothing to do with clock and calendar.

It is being set on 'perform for an audience' for 6 hours a day, and also the intensity that comes about from so many human interactions / cares / worries - from why a child isn't performing against their targets, through child protection or SEN meetings, to the pressure of getting variable human beings through standardised hoops regardless of all the other things going on in their lives, from hamsters dying to family crises to neglect and malnutrition to full on abuse.

That's what makes it different from other 'long hours' jobs, IME - and I have done fast management track in large stressful corporate before going into teaching.

I mentioned 'work life balance' because basically it's a growing problem with recruitment and retention. School are being ordered to waste spend time researching it. It affects retention and recruitment. As does the fact that would be teachers feel the job is negatively perceived . The government acknowledges morale is an issue. One small thing a school could do is think about how to make weeks with Open Evenings in them more tolerable.

Bed.

Very uplifting @Ffion. I had a great time. It gave me time to reflect on how lucky I am to work in such a wonderful school... and to consider how I'm more exhausted than I've ever been.

Thanks, can't. I will reflect on that.

I am just wondering how the teachers who take this all in their stride get away with it. They obviously have an amazing attention to detail and a generocity of spirit. I am wondering whether these amazing teachers are likely to moan about their lot on social media, or whether it energises them further. I suspect the latter.

Sixth form college. I had an open evening this week, a parents evening next week and a welcome evening the week after. Then we work a full saturday in December plus another 5 or so evenings before Christmas! Quietens down after that.

Can I get in on the Open Day moaning?

I work in an academy. Amongst much other shitness (honestly I could write a book), our Open Day was on a Saturday, 8am til 1pm for staff. Had to set up Fri evening after school finished at 3.30. No time back, no early finish, no tea or biscuits, still went to 5 after school meetings in the preceding week.
As if I felt like singing the praises of the school to parents after that. I still put my corporate game face on and did it though. Gotta play the game haven't you.

You will get a good and rewarding sleep, Yogi

i am just wondering how the teachers who take this all in their stride get away with it. They obviously have an amazing attention to detail and a generocity of spirit. I am wondering whether these amazing teachers are likely to moan about their lot on social media, or whether it energises them further. I suspect the latter.

I've worked with amazing teachers. I've never met one who didn't moan about open evening.

I like that you assume none of us on here is an amazing teacher.

One way I take it in my stride is by finding a suitable outlet to vent.

I then entertain the troops and market away at Open Evening. And teach thoroughly amazingly the next day.

Ah I love all you teacher guys too. Talking about working late I've been trying to create an A-level trigonometry worksheet but my brain is mush after a really crap day and this thread has re-energised me :)

generosity.

Whoops again.