The Forty Seventh Republic! Happy Valentines and get some half term rest

[Staffdontblowitnow]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff only – a sort of room of requirement. Baiters, haters, goaders, and bashers can jog on somewhere else.

If you are NOT staff and just have a general education query please start your own thread.

You can play here if you are a member of one the following groups-

-ABBA - anti bashers and baiting association
-SWAB - school workers against bashers
-SWOT - school workers opposing teacherbashers
-STARS - schoolworkers together against ranting + slurs

Do not give the staffroom password just in case it attracts the wrong sort

Other requirements for staff room entry include the ability to find the staff room, the ability to find a clean mug in the staff room, knowledge of the photocopier codes, and the ability to sniff out where the booze is stashed - Thirsty Tuesdays, Fizz Fridays now in operation.

If you come with a stick to goad us then that is not allowed in the staffroom and you will receive a detention

They stupidly bees by farting on them. Surely that's a KS3 boy MO?? (OK, maybe KS 2/4 possibly 5 as well)

Yeah the issue of community transmission isn't really how many teachers did they give it to (and given levels of exposure teachers may have higher chance of having had it already) the main vehicle of transmission into the wider community would be taking it home to households who then go to other workplaces etc.

A teacher like me would only be taking it back into the same school I caught it from. If a child takes it home to 2 parents with 2 different workplaces etc it's impact on community transmission is higher than a teacher catching it IMO.

sounds very honey badger esque!

I’ve kind of resigned myself to going back on 8th.

Will be surrounded by teenagers who aren’t vaccinated. Those teenagers will mostly live with unvaccinated parents.

I really hope numbers drop off a cliff over the next few weeks. It doesn’t feel safe at the moment.

I’m liking hearing about the feisty petite people. Scariest people I know are tiny.

I’m more of an average sized passive aggressive type.

I once worked in a dept in HE with a very scary tiny lady. In theory, I was her boss, in practise, she ran the place although "only" a secretary.

I left, it was a horrible place.

It closed was amalgamated with another faculty office later that year. She was 'persuaded' to retire after 35 years.

I have a face that says everything I'm thinking. I have a lot of string opinions.

I've always found that it works for me. I'm really bullish at interview - I genuinely look at them as a two way thing, and have walked out of them before when I realise I don't want to work there. I like to hope that anyone giving me a job knows what they are letting themselves in for.

I'm a hard worker, but I have wealthy parents who are a safety net (never used I should add). I've always been in the privileged position to be able to be high risk when it comes to putting my head above the parapet, or just leaving jobs without another one lined up. Allows me to be bolshy.

honey I've just looked up honey badgers. Goodness they're fiesty!! I found the video you were talking about with eating a king cobras, passing out and then carrying on eating the cobra. Then we found one where a honey badger took on 6 lions, and didn't die!!! For a little animal they are fierce!!!

I’m afraid my kid is obsessed with a Disney+ Lion King spin off called The Lion Guard so that I have heard on repeat (sometimes whilst I am doing live lessons!) heard a feisty little honey badger that likes to sing!

God I'm bored. Rather excruciating pain in my back means that sleeping is impossible so an hour and a half ago I moved to the sofa with lots of cushions for support. After I'd sat down I realised the remote was out of reach 😭 and I'm not standing up until I absolutely have to so I'm sat here grimly scrolling through mumsnet.

I have terrible shoulder an d back pain ,too! It is normally better at half term but there is nothing to do except more telly and laptop so nothing really to cure it!

How many of us are suffering with bad backs I wonder? This has to be linked to remote teaching In sure. I too was up all night with throbbing back and knee pain. I had physio sessions just before lockdown. Physiotherapist said it was all posture related and possibly long periods of standing or sitting - that’s teaching for you. Got the whole back thing resolved by swimming too then Lockdown 3 - back to square one.

Unfortunately toddler doesn't understand that climbing on mummy really fucking hurts right now. And with 5 hours of sleep, mummy is having to keep a very tight hold of her language...
Hilariously, the other day I said "shit" about something, then followed it up with an apology "sorry for saying that darling" and she repeated, clear as day "darling". I'm glad that was the word she picked up on! 😂

Sorry, I should be clear that I've switched allegiances from mini rolls!

My kid just referred to bing as a tiny little dickhead and I couldn't even tell him off because I completely agree.

I have painful shoulders that I put down to hunching over a desk all day instead of standing. We're not built for sitting down all day as teachers!

I'm not sure I'll get back into standing up and darting round the room. It was essential when teaching science with practicals and there was space to do it in labs. No such space in our hums rooms. Assuming we get to return to our department areas one day.

I have had a bad back since childbirth to be fair sarah.

I think I'll keep a chair by my desk and get people to bring their work to me more often. I suspect the running to them encourages more passivity and being squeezed between rows with my arse in someone's face isn't the best.

I do relish the idea of being able to move about when I need to and of being able to have them come sit next to me with their work. More than anything I relish the idea of only teaching in one area that is calm and controlled by the constant presence of staff with a sense of ownership over the area and the thought of only teaching in one classroom (probably unlikely as a part timer) is heaven.

Sorry for all the back aches. My mum has an infrared heat lamp from about 1970 that I borrow when I've got back ache but I'm guessing they're likely illegal now. If you flip the switch the other way you get uv with which my sister managed to burn her cornea trying to give herself a tan as a teenager.

An old sock filled with rice and microwaved is good. More flexible than a hot water bottle. Heat and icing helps me. I had a bad shoulder that went on for years after a motorcycle accident so I know how painful these things can be.

I've had a buggered back for years, it's horrendous at the moment. I barely sleep because of the pain and getting up in the morning is so difficult. It worries me as I'm only in my thirties! Honey I've got one of those ancient heat lamps, they're amazing

Wow - do you think that the poster who complained about teachers having chairs, was actually just concerned about our backs and shoulders?

Seriously though, back pain is awful - so sympathies to those suffering

Yep I might specify now that my sister can have whatever she wants in the will so long as I get that lamp!

Sorry for your back. Have you sought help? In my experience some physios are shite but someone good can really help. One physio I saw was my yoga teacher who worked in the day as an nhs physio but also studied all sorts of other modalities and was very good at.. I guess educating me about or articulating the alignments and issues in my body.

I had a cherry stone heat pack when pregnant and it did wonders for backache.

Toddler has been awake for five hours. We’ve literally exhausted a whole day’s worth of wholesome activities already - walk, play dough, stories etc - so have given up and are watching In The Sodding Night Garden with a packet of Quavers. I’d pay £100 for a soft play trip right now.

Still, she’s likely to crap/wet herself soon, so that’ll break up the day...

My dad used to have one of those red heat lamp-I remember being fascinated by it!!

My fall back when knackered with toddler was lying on the sofa and him being my doctor. That and playing with cars in the way some children play with dolls as in they'd have elaborate back stories and voices and accents and have conversations.

We had an in the night garden book with lift up flaps where he lost his blanket that I could probably still remember all the words to I now have no idea where all my patience and energy came from. Kudos to all of you with little ones in the mix of this last years challenges