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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

Original poster

Effing whole day lecture/inset

54 replies

Ofthread · 09/01/2019 16:36

Just come out of a whole day of some guy talking at me, a whole day, a day-long lecture. He could have said what he said in an hour. This is Inset, is this normal? It’s my first year teaching.

OP posts:
AssassinatedBeauty · 09/01/2019 16:49

Sadly this is fairly common. It used to frustrate me terribly when I had to sit through them.

noblegiraffe · 09/01/2019 18:18

Were post-it notes involved at all?

Over the last few years INSET at my place has become unlucky teachers being picked to ‘showcase good practice’ to other staff on a carousel. No cost.

Original poster
Ofthread · 09/01/2019 18:48

No post-it notes. It was literally him talking as us all day. I’m in shock that this could happen in a teaching context, not really an example of good practice, is it? This is going to be a very short career move at this rate.

OP posts:
Original poster
Ofthread · 09/01/2019 18:48

Talking AT us, sorry.

OP posts:
elephantoverthehill · 09/01/2019 18:52

You will know for next time to get your Inset bingo cards ready in advance Wink

Original poster
Ofthread · 09/01/2019 18:58

Fuck! I have so much work to do, I could cry at the wasted day. It wasn’t without merit but he could have done a 45 min paper on it.

OP posts:
Piggywaspushed · 10/01/2019 15:42

Oh Blush I dleiver training and am quite often the mug who has to get free enthusiastic staff to share good practice (which it frequently isn't)

Sorry noble, I have used post it notes in two training sessions in the last week.

In the one on training day, 5 members of staff had not brought a pen. It was like bottom set year 10. The member of staff whose classroom I was forced to use had locked away the remote control, board pen and board rubber (which was kind of essential to rub the penis off the board)

I do think sometimes the people receiving the training could put themselves in the shoes of the poor sods delivering it!

We never have the bloke talking at us for hours thing at my place because we (despite being a teaching school) never ever spend any money. And they charge ££££££££

Detoxpup · 10/01/2019 15:45

At the beginning of our last inset we had to hug the person next to us and then have wasted day of being talked at.........it was the day I updated my cv

theworldistoosmall · 10/01/2019 16:12

One thing I don't miss from education. The dull Inset stuff.
Thankfully at my last school, the head hated them as well. When he became head looked at Inset, what exactly was needed and what could we do in-house with relevant training. Then started asking around who was interested in doing internal and external training.

Some of these people really shouldn't be delivering training. They often talk to us like kids. And the repetition. They just come across as dull as ditchwater, and no-one remembers a thing.

And yes I know what it's like to be on the other side. I always made the sessions as fun and engaging as possible, and cut out the repetitive drivvle.

AssassinatedBeauty · 10/01/2019 16:16

I used to lock my stuff away as well because my room was often used for training and outside activities. Basically always, id arrive to teach the next morning and find my stuff either missing or broken. All the IT equipment disconnected and set to all kinds of settings too.

marcopront · 10/01/2019 16:28

We had inset on Monday.
Part 1 a discussion on guiding statements
Part 2 going out of school and planting trees.

thatsmycoat · 10/01/2019 16:29

Death by PowerPoint Grin

cricketballs3 · 10/01/2019 18:31

When ever my room is used for anything other everything gets locked away - far to often basic equipment has gpne missing.

I hate INSET with a passion! Other than first day back in September when we get details of yr 7 and health issues (using an epi pen for example) I have yet to attend any that has any actual value

MsAwesomeDragon · 10/01/2019 18:41

We had inset on Monday about GDPR in the morning, being talked at when we could have been using that time to actually get rid of stuff that is not GDPR compliant (like exam papers from previous years, etc).

Then staff mental health and wellbeing in the afternoon. Another 2 hours of being talked at, and I came out of it understanding very well that I am exhibiting all the symptoms of stress and that I need to eat more healthily, do more exercise, and get more sleep. No hints and tips about how to find the time to do those things while also managing to teach full time and have a family. So I suspect I'll continue to exhibit symptoms of stress, and I'll continue to self-medicate with chocolate and ice cream, because I don't have time to do any of the lovely stress relieving activities suggested.

Hey ho, at least I then got the chance to stay at school till 8:30pm for an open evening this week as well. It's not like I had anything better to do.

ElizabethMainwaring · 10/01/2019 18:59

Oh Dragon. Bless you. Why on earth do we do it.

Piggywaspushed · 10/01/2019 19:04

As a CPD leader , I can only apologise... Grin but I am not giving the stuff I stole from your rooms back

MaureenMLove · 10/01/2019 19:08

11 years at the same school, so that's approximately 50 odd INSET days, has taught me to go prepared. Cushion for hard chair, big warm wrap for the winter months because it's always so damn cold in the hall. A big note book and one of those multicoloured pens, so my doodles can get coloured in!

I have also learnt not to sit behind certain members of male staff, because whilst they start off sitting upright on their chairs, sooner or later they wriggle and the holes in the back of the chairs reveal their pants! I have inside knowledge of people shopping habits that I'd rather not know!Grin

Many of our INSETs are very useful, but I agree whole day lecturing is a killer!

WofflingOn · 10/01/2019 19:16

Or when you have a PowerPoint, and a printout of the PowerPoint for every —victim— participant, and An Expert who then reads the PowerPoint aloud. In a monotone.
And you sit and sit and sit, thinking of the million and one necessary or enjoyable things you could have been doing.
They started in 1988, 5 a year. How many BDays have I endured?

Phineyj · 10/01/2019 19:17

You amateurs! Take a small laptop, watch the speaker intently and take notes (while writing that novel). Kindles can be popped inside a plain paper notepad. I read a whole book once. You can also.do pelvic floor exercises. Grin

Original poster
Ofthread · 10/01/2019 19:20

Just writing it here as I feel a sense of relief just thinking this, but I’ve decided I’m not going to be able to carry on with this job. Since I started in October I’ve had the sense that the college is actively trying to waste my time and a actively trying to ensure I don’t have enough time to do my job properly. I have no agency and don’t feel respected as a professional with expertise and things to bring to bear. The environment is a killer. I love the other staff and students, but it’s horrible to see the staff so downtrodden, they are great people. I really don’t want that to happen to me.

I am left wondering who is the audience for this guy’s talk? It’s not us who are having to sit through a whole day of his waffle, bad jokes and extreme lack of self-awareness.

I’m very angry. I need to feel respected in my role, I think it’s a bottom line for me. This was the opposite of that, we were absolutely disabled and infantilised.

OP posts:
WofflingOn · 10/01/2019 19:20

I got scolded by one of my head teachers for doodling during one of them. Told me off good and proper at break time , despite me saying that was how I remembered stuff.

Redcrayonisthebest · 10/01/2019 19:36

We've had some good inset recently, so feel quite lucky there, but a couple of years ago we had a guy, a small time professional rugby player I think. He talked for several hours about himself, his life and how fantastic he was. Nothing whatsoever to do with education. The head teacher later shouted at us for not enjoying it because it was supposed to be a treat and to inspire us........ it wasn't and it didn't Confused

Acopyofacopy · 10/01/2019 19:45

Can I just say that our last INSET fell on my day off and I didn’t have to go? Every time I thought about it in the weeks days before, I had to giggle, it felt like I had won the lottery Grin

I am actually still giggling now...

PurpleCrowbar · 10/01/2019 22:52

See this is when being a bullet journal type obviously pays dividends.

You rock up with a fancy notebook, a pencil case full of naice pens, & a keen expression.

Spend the day quietly updating stuff like your plans to overhaul your youngest's wardrobe & charity shop shit, meal plan for next month.

Have a non teacher friend on WhatsApp so you can bitch about pointlessness of whole thing.

Try not to roll eyes too much. I'm told my face is far too expressive & it occasionally gets me told off...

MuinteoirTuirseach · 10/01/2019 23:12

I've sat through far too many two hour lectures that could have been delivered just as easily in an email I could ignore ten minutes. One of my schools insisted on having CPD EVERY WEEK, for some inexplicable reason. Once as a technician I was mistakenly put on the TA timetable and had a grand time, while my boss was somehow scheduled for the same fire safety talk four times in a row. But a day-long lecture sounds like a new low!

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