Ten parents evenings a year - this is fucking stupid!

[10istoomany]

It's infuriating because the logistics it causes me in childcare is horrendous, but aside from which it is surely not reasonable?

The problem is that the PE doesn't technically start until 4:30 and goes on until 6:30, so two hours, but there's an hour and a half of trapped time in there.

I’m not sure why the OP should count her blessings when she is doing double the amount of parents evenings I - or any teacher I know -have ever been asked to do.

Honestly you lose all respect when you say that.... you chose that profession and want sympathy but I bet if a shift worker complained about working Christmas Day you'd think well they chose it....

Yes I think it's too much and that they could do them by KS instead of year group to reduce. "As a parent" I actually think parents night is a joke anyway, 10 minutes (if you are lucky) with the teacher for them to say exactly what is written in the report.... hardly insightful but it is common practice here and part of the job so perhaps move schools to one that does them all on the same night or if that doesn't work, move jobs.

I don’t know where you lot work, but l do one parents evening (secondary) for each year.

Y7 tutors do an extra one, but get the time back in lieu.

Y6 and y12 open evenings, but we only have to do one of them, so these are split in departments.

I remember as workplace reform years ago, you could have either a twilight/ meeting/parents evening in one week. Never more than one of them. Don’t know what happened to all those reforms. I think Gove kicked them out as education secretary.

Why do non teachers come on here when you desperately desperately need support?

I'm NOT being a twat. I'm really not ... but Monday I was in school until 5 with revision, Tuesday half 5 twilight, Wednesday teaching until 4 with revision then parents evening ... plus own kids.

Yes, I am sure it's worse in other workplaces but I am feeling it right now. I have actually cried going home because I'm tired and my LM won't listen.

And when I say don't listen i don't mean about being tired, before everyone comes on to shout at me for being unprofessional!

I've got rude kids, kids destroying things I have to buy for them, spending my own money on pizzas and chocolate and sweets to tempt them to do the work, pens, posters for the classroom and they all get destroyed and I'm fed up.

Have you worked out if you’re within directed time or not?
Stop spending your own money and discuss better behaviour management techniques with colleagues.

I can understand your pain. We've just had ds's yr7 parents evening. Only got to see 2 of his teachers - humanities really reassured me that he is doing great, won't bother seeing them next time though. Maths teacher really appreciated the chance to discuss with him. I do feel now that an email will do but don't want ds to feel I don't care, although he looked really uncomfortable sitting there.
Would you rather just parents email you if they have worries?

Yep, all my fault.

If you don't hear from me, assume everything is fine
Not a change would I do that again!!
We didn't hear from teacers that Ds1 was losing ground and his behaviour was not acceptable in class. We were clueless until parents evening and got told they were dropping him set. They had known for four months. I asked why they didn't tell us so we could work together. I got told' well I'm telling you now
So no, don't assume everything is fine!!!

OK Wolfie here is a longer version which tbh I don't know why I am bothering to give you because your answer didn't deserve it and IIRC you don't even teach.

However. I haven't worked out DT because I am in a MAT and we teach longer hours. So yes I am in it. Doesn't mean it isn't bloody knackering.

There is nothing wrong with my behaviour management, the opposite, in fact, but I am limited in what I can do. I can cajole, manage and help. I can't exclude, isolate or remove. So if a child is hellbent on destroying my lesson I have to put up with it. And BECAUSE I am actually pretty good with the difficult ones I have a lot of them to try and help my colleagues because that's what we do (just not on here apparently.)

If I didn't spend my own money on resources kids would have no pens and then no work would be done, next book scrutiny from SLT and there's my P45. We have a mortgage and I have young kids.

So thank you indeed for your answer. As it made me finally burst into tears.

OP I hid my “good” set of pencils before a certain class yesterday as I knew many would end up destroyed.. it is disheartening I know. Now you’re home can you switch off a bit in some way?
And pass the details of the ones doing the crazy stuff on to management, every time. Keep the sweets for yourself.
This thread will be popping up in Active convos hence non-teachers posting on it. It’s not Aibu folks.
Shannara to be honest, I would do both - go to the parents evening, but if you are worried about progress email as well.

emoji, those reforms are basically still supposed to exist... academisation eroded them...

I have never heard a single positive thing about the academy system.

I have been doing Mistress ... deaf ears.

There is a kid in one of my classes going absolutely fucking nuts, not to put too fine a point on it. Even just asking him to write the fucking date results in "I'M NOT DOIN' IT!" and then he throws his exercise book at me.

I've been filling in forms since January about him but NOTHING has happened. Not even "yes, we're looking into this." And before Wolfie starts, I've done everything I can do ... have had his parents in (a meeting after school when I could be with my own kids) and differentiated the work right down to a level he can cope with but it isn't working.

Anyway sorry for that rant!

I work in an academy (not in a MAT). We have one meeting a week (max) is just your standard teacher, no enforced revision sessions and no twilight CPD (although i fear that is coming). My school has many drawbacks but common sense re calendar still exists.

10 I’m surprised that a school would go 4 months without sending a report home - at my school I think we send 5 a year.

I’ve had that before at parents evening ‘why didn’t you tell me he was pissing about/not doing homework’ ‘Er, he has 20 demerits on the system and every report home has said behaviour needs to improve’ ‘yeah but you should have emailed’.

In fairness I've never worked in a school like it and I have worked in academies before.

Sorry, that was to notacooldad

10 It sounds like you are at the end of your tether with a shitty unsupportive school who make unreasonable demands of you. Resignation deadline is approaching?

How do you mean giraffe?

Oh, got you, sorry!

I'm tempted but I haven't got the energy to apply for anything else to be honest. Things have been a bit disruptive and from a CV POV it would be so much better if I could stick it out for another year.

Yeah I said that before I realised you were in an academy. No union rep either I suppose? If someone actually throws a book at you call the police.
Are there any vacancies coming up that you could move to? Any school that doesn’t allow you to isolate a dangerous pupil isn’t safe to work at.

I think your original complaint has been lost in the additional details and stroppy tone of subsequent posts OP. The hours you're working don't sound particularly unusual for this time of year in a secondary school. The conditions in which you are doing those hours sound awful though, I'd be looking elsewhere (and did, in similar situation!).

Stroppy tone? It's not stroppiness, it's exhaustion and the kick me when I'm down posters.

If you can’t cope with “I’m not doing it” maybe you’re in the wrong job.

Compared to a post I once started whining about parents' evenings (and was being quite lighthearted) and one about not being allowed to shout these days (also quite light hearted) you really aren't being kicked, OP ! Misconstrued, misunderstood perhaps. You do sound at the end of you tether. I'd stop the revision sessions personally. Or are they also compulsory?