Anyone else praying to get through this week? On my knees

[EarlyMorningCoffee]

I could type it all out but I think it can be summed up quite neatly by

• SMT

• Nativity

I feel if I can make it to Friday, I can photocopy 30 Christmas workbooks, stick on a film and gibber in a corner.

I work within a SN unit. It’s horrendous at the moment. The kids are near feral because they are overwhelmed with the ramp up to Christmas and all the important, painstaking lessons they have learned and taken on board have gone out the window.

I don’t really work with the kids, or at least I’m not there to do so, but last week spent an hour sat in the corner with a lad, patiently tearing paper into bits and listening to swear words so that the TA could supervise snow globes and the SLT could calm a ‘situation’

Hats off to teacher and TAs that deal with this day in day out. I can choose to walk away, and sometimes I do, but they can’t

Puzzled as to why a poster who isn't a teacher would come to this thread, aimed at teachers, and judge teachers like this? The OP hasn't tried to lay claim to "most hardworking occupation" or anything, just sounding off to others in the same boat. Like we all do from time to time.

Lay off .

Also not a teacher but appreciate everything they do for my Dd.

It does make me wonder why a bit of a light hearted moan can cause such vicious vitriol from non teachers. Non of my colleagues think they have the monopoly on stress. We al appreciate the health care workers, public services etc where lives can be damaged if you take your eye off the ball for a second.
The staffroom is just a great place to vent, not feel alone in your moments of rage, despair and exhaustion and have a laugh with each other.
Let’s just chill people!

Ex teacher here. I feel your pain. It's bloody stressful. You'll get through it though. Have a brilliant Christmas and ignore people with negative views who've never been in the profession. They have absolutely no idea 🙂

Still 2 full weeks here and we continue normal work until the last day, that makes it easier in some ways but it's exhausting trying to keep demob happy teenagers working. I am also taking Remus' approach. Work remains the same but allowing myself the odd evening off. Good luck everyone.

I work in a secondary school (catering) and the teachers I see throughout the day are flipping amazing.
At this point nearing the end of this term I am certain that everyone is flagging at some point. You know, for those that don't work in school, the staff are AMAZING! They instill confidence and positivity in your child's day, when they themselves may be having a rough time.
I've fed teachers that have been struggling and have been near to tears.
I have nothing but admiration and and I see it first hand how fab they are.

Not a teacher but FWIW I think you deserve a bloody medal!

DD5 is feral atm with nativity, christmas excitement etc and I feel demented. I don't know how you manage to organise 25+ of them!

Hope you get a relaxing time off at Christmas at least!

Can I just ask, as a parent... Would you rather not do all the ‚extras‘ this time of year? I feel it has got a bit out of hand. The Nativity play I think is important, but I wish there were fewer other things. Our school is having a party, cinema outing, PTA evening disco and various dress down days/fairs as well as the Nativity. If everyone is so shattered, why not just scale it back? I feel that very little learning happens from mid December onwards, as there is so much other unnecessary stuff going on, which can’t be good for academic achievement surely? Why cram so much in? My child is NT (I think!) but sensitive to noise and overscheduling, amd I get quite upset that school forces all this unnecessary excitement on the children at this time of year. Shouldn’t schools be taking a step back and dropping some activities? Or would you get objections? If so, from whom?

(NB I am from a teaching family myself...this is emphatically no criticism of teachers. I just want to understand who is driving this and whether there is any appetite for changing it. I feel Society is overdoing Christmas, hyping it up, and schools are getting caught up in it. )

'Puzzled as to why a poster who isn't a teacher would come to this thread'?
The title of it maybe? It is quite dramatic.

Yes on my knees with 2 weeks to go. Mocks were 2 weeks ago so have turned around 200 papers marked to feed back on this week so that push a couple of 45 hour weeks. We’ve had two very serious incidents that had led to more paperwork than normal. Parents evening x 2 standardisation/moderation evening event, Christmas concert so 7pm
Finishes for those and the Christmas ball (11pm) finishes and a full staff training meeting all scheduled in next two weeks. Without forgetting my ‘normal’ job of planning preparing and assessing 22 hours of learning and lessons a week. Behaviour is significantly dropping making everything so much harder.

I know other people have it hard too at this time of year (or indeed all year!) but can we have a safe space to moan ‘the staff room’ without everyone jumping in telling us how easy our jobs are when you don’t actually do them yourself.

I have to admit that as much as I love this time of year in Primary there is too much going on! KS1nativity( this could be a thread all of its own)KS2 Carol concert, church carol concert, church activities event, carol service at local home for the elderly, parents activities afternoon, panto trip l. It’s getting increasingly hard to fit in any meaningful SOWs as their getting disrupted every 2 minutes. I realise how miserable I sound typing this so I’ll shush now and grab a mince pie!

When I worked in an office I don’t remember clients bouncing into meetings saying ‘IT’S CHRIIIISSSSTMAAAASS!! Can we have a fun meeting? Can we play Christmas music? Can I wear a Santa hat? Aw you’re such a grinch’.

Oh definitely, some schools have gone overboard with Fun Costly Activities. Combine that with education and teaching nowadays and it's a recipe for a nervous breakdown.

Class party, infant nativity play and senior carol concert should definitely be part of the primary school experience though. I'd be devastated if they were banned.

When I worked in an office I don’t remember clients bouncing into meetings saying ‘IT’S CHRIIIISSSSTMAAAASS!!

YY. 'WAIT TILL I TELL YOU WHAT MY ELF DID!' is not often heard in the corporate world.

Completely agree with fascinated.

This time of year, children are shattered. Teachers are shattered. Parents are shattered.

Please can we all make a pact to just dial it back whereever we can?

My DDs’ school has changed the Reception and Y1 nativity format to be a lot simpler and easier for the DC - much better! Although some parents whinge about it of course but most of us see the sense.

I think non teachers will ways focus on the holidays. I really do think that managing Social Care, social work and most roles in the NHS are just as /more stressful and can be life or death.

I always try to remember that when teaching,as schools can make staff feel as thought its life or death! Reports done on time? Books all marked up to date? Paper work all filled in for impending trip? New policies of intent written up etc etc. I actually think its ok to prioritise the 100s of kids in front if us and get the teaching done.

If my reports are a day late SLG can wait its not brain surgery and its not the end of the world. I am in a lovely school though with a supportive head. Many colleagues aren't and bullying and unrealistic targets loom large, just like the NHS and social care! We don't need to be divided on this. It's not a competition!

What’s with the competitive busyness? We all know that teaching is super hard and stressful. Instead of piling on to compare and complain, why not come on and offer some support or thanks to all teachers.

I work in the NHS and get similarly stressed at various times of the year. I am not trying to compete and if there was and NHS staff room I’d be in there having the odd whinge. I’d hope teachers would pop in and be soothing!

Peace and love and thank you to all hard working, stressed out teachers.

My DC (end of first term in reception) is utterly wrecked right now and struggling with exhaustion and keyed-upness. Anything you can do to ease the load on everybody in school is fine with me. Hang in there.

@noblegiraffe how many of your office workers were children?

None, obviously, What. Which is why when Vincent upthread said that they were having to do their job ‘same as every other day of the year’, they were failing to take into account that for teachers, the job isn’t the same as every other day of the year because the kids, unlike adult colleagues, tend to go a bit mad.

Feel your pain. We teach right to the end. But the kids will still incessantly badger me for a Christmas film. Our attendance at the moment is shocking, as all the kids are falling ill. I was up until 11 marking on Thursday night. Then was up at 4 on Friday to read up on a lesson I had to teach that afternoon, outside of my specialism. It was more difficult than I had realised, and I was too exhausted to concentrate properly. So I spent my breaktime crying in the toilets. Roll on Christmas.

My thanks to all teachers. This time of year is so emotionally fraught, so exhausting, so busy for so bloody long, and so illness loaded.

I work in lots of different environments and can categorically say that any institution with young children is a different scale of Xmas stress to whose organising the secret Santa and the Xmas meal.

Maybe people who want to vent about the pressures of their job with like-minded peers who aren't teachers or childcare workers could start their own thread in a different topic.

When I worked in an office I don’t remember clients bouncing into meetings saying ‘IT’S CHRIIIISSSSTMAAAASS!! Can we have a fun meeting? Can we play Christmas music? Can I wear a Santa hat? Aw you’re such a grinch’.

Not for the first time, @noblegiraffe
, you owe me a new phone screen. I just spat my coffee over it laughing at your comment

Half my department is ill, some won’t be back before Christmas, behaviour is mad with all the supply and cover teachers around, we are in the middle of mocks and awaiting The Call. I had my first panic attack last week. Can’t wait for the end!

I'm dreading this week as it's still all systems go in secondary, but they know they're finishing next week

Tbh next Monday will be the worst. Tues/wed onwards are Christmas activities but Monday is a "normal day"

I'm exhausted, with a LO this week, and meetings on top of teaching. I'm counting down to next week and finishing for a fortnight