The Sixtieth Republic - One half term to go - just need to survive Sports Day and Activities Week!

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

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 for school staff to let off steam.

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.

Do not give the staffroom password to non-staff as it attracts the wrong sort of crowd.

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. Do not sit on the chairs and do wear a mask. Finally, upload your covid test results twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Munching ice as we speak!

Do a fitness class instead.

By the time we were in 5th year (old skool - is that year 11?) we were doing Jane Fonda aerobics classes instead of whatever shite we'd been told to do. At least that was a nod towards fitness rather than 'invasion games' or whatever.

Why do schools teach javelin, shot put etc? Just how many people do those as adults? About 10 I reckon. Worldwide. And only for a bet.

I think everyone is understandably very defensive about the choices they make for work post dc.
Actually scrub that, I think women are defensive, I doubt most fathers lose sleep over it. Now sleep, there's another big factor. Oh for a child who slept through the night before they turned two

Oh for a child who slept through the night before they turned two

Six for us. Six and a half actually. She's finally got there this March. We are just about beginning to recover, although still expecting it to go back to a shitshow at any point.

Can you tell I'm supposed to be writing reports...

Lucy Kellaway makes journalism sound a complete doss, too. Which I am sure it isn't .

Tbf to my DH, he says that post-kids he has felt pressure to climb the career ladder, earn more to support the family, give us nice things and allow me to be part time. So in our family it's not me being part time that facilitates him onwards and upwards, rather the other way around.

Lucy Kellaway was at least honest when she started teaching about how difficult it was and how surprised she was to find that she was shit at it.

She has to be a bit evangelical about how rewarding it is, I suppose, in comparison to much better paid professions, because of course she is trying to recruit them.

@noblegiraffe

Tbf to my DH, he says that post-kids he has felt pressure to climb the career ladder, earn more to support the family, give us nice things and allow me to be part time. So in our family it's not me being part time that facilitates him onwards and upwards, rather the other way around.

Yes, same with my partner. Me going back to work enabled him to climb the ladder (by doing the massive commute - it was the stepping stone job to his current one), and earn much more than me. He thinks he needs to do this to give his family nice things. Also, this will in turn allow me to go part time, or change career in a couple of years.

I think (personal opinion here, for me and my subject) that working full time is easier than part time. I've done both, with dc. No playing catch up, no being unable to actually do 2/3 of whatever so you end up doing it all despite not being paid. What is harder is dealing with stuff at home. I don't just mean housework but school event stuff, it's easier if you can do at least some primary pick ups so you meet other parents/the teacher, it's easier to factor in medical appointments for the dc or sick days (don't be sick today! Be sick tomorrow when I'm already off!!)
Nursery I found easier than primary school as they just needed themselves out the door in the morning, no notes, homework, dress up days.
It is gloriously sunny here today.

I agree that women are defensive about their choices about work after children. But I think it's often the case that they have to be defensive because somebody is judging them in a way nobody really judges men. Possibly because men don't tend to have the same choices readily available to them. I had to go back ft as I was earning a lot more than DH, so we needed my income. If one of us was going pt/sah, it had to be him, but he didn't want to, which nobody ever commented on.

We had a good childminder, but she didn't really do flexible childcare, she did 8-5 Monday to Friday, and we worked the rest out between us. The early years were a killer!! Dd2 was a bottle refuser as well, so she "reverse cycled" from 6m- 18m, waking up at least 4 times a night for milk. I thought we were pretty equal in the amount we did back then, but actually looking back, I still did more of the childcare and housework, despite having the more demanding and better paying job.

Hi all. Just popping by to say I'm fully vaccinated now (age 44) but how bloody angry I still am that many of my colleagues haven't and that we weren't near the top of the list in the first place.

Try phoning any service provider and their staff are still working from home 'for the safety of their families and loved ones'.

Angry day today!

We were both part time until she started school. But he could put 10 days hours into 9 days, meaning he didn't lose any money. Plan is that we both go part time when she's around 9/10. The 'tween' years.

Hi all. Just popping by to say I'm fully vaccinated now (age 44) but how bloody angry I still am that many of my colleagues haven't and that we weren't near the top of the list in the first place.

I hear ya! So pleased you are double vaxxed. My second is on the 23rd July. Small comfort to be double vaxxed by Sapt. A colleague in my dept is 25-30 age bracket and won’t be double vaxxed until 7th Sept
Outrageous situation to be in. A lovely non teacher poster in another thread said they couldn’t understand why school staff couldn’t at least get the same protections as everyone else and it was nice to see somebody understood!

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

We were both part time until she started school. But he could put 10 days hours into 9 days, meaning he didn't lose any money. Plan is that we both go part time when she's around 9/10. The 'tween' years.

I should have been an optometrist. A family member of mine is one and works three days a week and earns double what I earn full time and still was only a three year degree, so a good alternative to some medic hopefuls. I’m going to recommend it to my own kid when the time comes

What a shame that @DanglingMod can’t mastermind the Enemies of Education world tour.......

That’s nice to work it out together Rule. I think living together it would be nice if both could go part time with some overlap of days off and some days you’re the only one at home. Everyone gets a career, time together and a chance to have the house to themselves too.

I think (personal opinion here, for me and my subject) that working full time is easier than part time. I've done both, with dc. No playing catch up, no being unable to actually do 2/3 of whatever so you end up doing it all despite not being paid

I agree with a lot of that mistress. After a few years part time I find it’s either end up doing full time work for part time pay or be very assertive and in return have people thinking you’re lazy or difficult because you draw boundaries.

Communication is also hard eg you can have shared groups spreadsheets so that in theory everyone knows where they’re at, what’s been done etc but ime it’s only part timers who appreciate the importance of keeping them up to date because others have much more opportunity to just ask in passing or share info the day before at lunch itms. So I end up having to chase and be seen as a nag and be dependent on people getting back to me.

I think I’d really struggle without time to myself at home though and god knows when I’d find the energy to go to the gym. The money would relieve a lot of stress though

I think living together it would be nice if both could go part time with some overlap of days off and some days you’re the only one at home.

The plan is that we both work 4 days a week. On the day off, we have between school drop off and pick up to ourselves. Part of it is being around to take child to things like gymnastics, swimming etc after school, or have a regular option for play dates/hanging around in the park. At the moment she has afterschool club every day.

We decided that we'd rather be around when she's a bit older, than now when she just loves going to afterschool club. When she wants to do a bit more than just play, we can be around for organised things.

Realistically I'd end up spending my 'day to myself' working, so that I didn't need to work at the the weekends. Yay. FFS,.

Yeah I work on days off so I don’t have to work in the evenings. My brain doesn’t work past 3pm

I think I’d really struggle without time to myself at home though ...... The money would relieve a lot of stress though

Completely with you there Honey

I have no idea whether time alone in the house is more or less prized by people in a relationship or single

So I am filling in the application form but I think it’s confirming I don’t want the job! 9.5 hours til it needs turning in

But @CarrieBlue even if you fill in the form there is nothing binding to say you HAVE to go through with the application. And it might focus you more on what you DO want?

That's what I told myself when I applied for my ITT.....

I think I’d really struggle without time to myself at home though and god knows when I’d find the energy to go to the gym. I really do struggle with no time to myself at home. I very, very rarely get any time to myself at home. Some days at half term when dd2 goes out with friends, that's it really. Otherwise, if I'm at home then dd2 and/or DH are at home. I get time to myself outside the house, going out on walks, etc, but sometimes it would be nice to be home alone and choose what I do. I don't have the energy to go to the gym either, so my house is a mess and I'm fat and unfit. That would definitely be where I would feel the benefit of PT. My plan is to continue ft, possibly going for promotion if anything ever comes up that I like the look of, for another 10-15 years. By then, the mortgage will be paid off so I could look at reducing my hours, and gradually reduce them further as I had towards retirement. That's the current plan, but things may change.

Oh I'm never alone at home.

I take child away without her dad a lot. We go and stay with friends, with family, we go away to Cornwall on our own etc. He often (every school holiday) gets 3 or 4 days alone to himself, and some random weekends.

I pretty much never get that. He takes her to his parents every so often, but they'll be back by Sunday just after lunch, which is annoying. He says he doesn't have 'a Cornwall option' to take her to, but he totally could go to his parents more often. They are 3 hours away.

If he's suggesting I have some alone time, it's always me going somewhere on my own. Not being at home. We actually had a bit of an 'animated conversation' about this over half term. He's going to try and do more taking her away. He keeps saying he's going to take her camping, but never does. I don't want to go camping with them, they are both shit sleepers and the only 2 times we've done it, their moaning and whinging about everything has made me have a shit time. I love camping though. Ha.

My alone time is before 8am on weekday mornings. That's it.

And before 8am, I'm at the gym or eating breakfast in my car in the school carpark. It's pretty flippin' indulgent.

I saw a Tweet yesterday on edutwitter that had something about 'what are you doing for yourself this weekend? Not for anyone else, just for you' and my answer would have been 'nothing'.

Up early, supermarket, put food away, make packed lunches, pack car up, drive to beach, drive home, basically go to bed. Today got up at 8, working by half 9, still working.

Great.