Does this happen everywhere in the teaching profession?

[Brownie79]

I work in a school and am fairly new to the profession.
As my time in school has progressed I've started to notice how bitchy most people are.
Everyone seems to be calling people who arent in their little group or in some cases people who are !
It makes me uncomfortable if I'm honest and I'm not sure how to best handle it .
It's already tough working in our profession at the moment, so don't want to make a fuss or fall out with anyone However dont want it to look like Im joining in either.
Has anyone been in a similar position ?

I am not a teacher but have family in teaching, from what I can gather it is quite bitchy, teachers bitching about other teachers, pupils and parents. There was even a study a few years ago that stated teaching was one of the bitchiest professions. I have great respect for teachers but know how hard it must be sometimes and people let of steam to each other.

I had 2 friends who were teachers. They are no longer close friends with me because I got so fed up listening to the bitchy comments. Yet they were preaching to the pupils about "be kind"

OP, this is going to get very nasty very quickly. Unless that's what you want, I would suggest asking HQ to transfer this thread to the staffroom.

What an interesting time to start a thread that reflects negatively on teachers.

I have found the opposite. One of the reasons I like being a primary teacher is that everyone is kind, caring and considerate.

But maybe I've been lucky!

Some workplaces are like this. Not just schools.

No, I tend to find that happens in many all-female environments rather than the common factor being teaching. Petty, spiteful and judgy.
Go for a school with a better mix of staff.

But actually, YABU not because of any bitchiness' but because right now teachers are worried, stressed and upset and are already being targeted on here, the mainstream media and on social media.

Enough.

Are you a classroom assistant OP?

Salad - I've thought that too. Almost as if there's a concerted effort to put teachers even further down in people's estimations at the moment. I wonder why that might be.

And no, when I was teaching I really enjoyed the people I worked with.

It happens everywhere. More so in female dominated workplaces, I've found.

Go for a school with a better mix of staff

How do you know that she isn’t In such a school?

Men can be just as bad...but when they vent and complain about situations and people its not called bitching for some reason

Sorry, I forgot we're not meant to have a negative opinion of teachers on mn

Oooh wait do i need the daffodil thing

I've been teaching for 15 years. No is the general answer. There are always going to be bitchy people in any profession, but the vast majority arent bitchy, particularly about pupils. The pupils are 99% of the actual reason that we go into the job.

I think there are pockets of this in almost every school but it being widespread across a whole school is unusual.

I have worked in several different schools and also have a lot of close friends and family who are teachers so have experience of a wide variety of schools - primary & secondary, large & small, private and state.

There are certainly bitchy factions in every school I have come across but I have only worked in one where it was widespread across the whole staff - it was a horrible place to work.

In one school the bitchy group was also the lazy group - the ones who showed up late to staff meetings, the ones who did the bare minimum of work, the ones who always had an excuse for getting out of extra curriculars or additional support etc.

BUT - I do not believe for one second that this is exclusive to teaching. I think most workplaces have the same issues. I don’t think this is a teaching issue - I think it’s a people issue. Teaching isn’t immune to the problems other workforces face, but neither is it worse than any other.

Yep. We are all over-paid, lazy, useless bitches. Happy now?

No that doesn’t happen everywhere

It doesn’t happen in my school, we see ourselves as a team and everyone is valued equally. Even when there are little squabbles and disagreements between individuals, no one takes sides and because everyone is supportive and respectful of each other, things are resolved quickly.

FFS here we go again. I have had the opposite experience

I teach in a school that has a lovely atmosphere and I love working with my colleagues. People fall out in all walks of life and I've seen that too but generally I couldn't do the job without the camaraderie we have.