Teachers

[AstroDan]

BigT - I am personally offended by your views.

I am a Primary School Teacher and your comments are so far of the mark it's untrue.

I can only imagine the school upon which you base your rIdiculous views is inadequate, because any other school would not have teachers as you say.

I work 7.20am until between 5-6pm Monday to Thursday, usually trying to leave earlier on Friday. I mark my books daily, inline with our schools rigid feedback policy.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[TheMan]

I have worked in a primary school in the reception classes and the amount of stuff they have to do is much more than you would think! Let alone how much a higher year teacher would do! Teachers are certainly not lazy!

So what would you call someone that doesn't turn up for work?

All depends on the reason behind not turning up! Snow days/personal reasons are not laze! However, simply not being bothered to turn up......

Teaching is like any profession, you get good, bad, brilliant and indifferent. The difference is, these people are having more influence nowadays on children than many parents are, and that is wrong. That has increased the stress and pressure of working in a school, and dealing with an ever increasing divide in class/wealth sociological structures in this country.

My old school became a shed after the headmaster left, likewise I have been involved in an area that, purely due to teachers/head dedication took a School in one of the most deprived areas in the Country, to a top 5% performing school.

The fact this country doesn't cope so well with snow, given to gear up to cope PROPERLY with the amount of snowfall we just had, would be ludicrously expensive given the infrequency, means an occasional day here and there of disruption is to be expected.

There are lazy teachers, there are lazy *insert profession here* - personally, and I have been offered the chance to work in Schools in various capacities, I find what they have to deal with is completely unique!

I don't agree with everything in schools or education for that matter, there is much I think needs improvement (as I imagine many teachers feel) - but lazy lol??

You don't put yourself through that much education, and into that much debt, to work that career and be lazy - it doesn't even make any logical sense man!

 

[GAGrathea]

Besides which certainly over here, all school staff were expected to come in if they could (and many did), but snow days apply to teachers the same way as people in every other profession... If you can't physically get to work, you can't...

Regardless, every teacher I know works their bloody arse off, and ones at mine (a private school meaning none of the extra bureaucracy rubbish that state schools get don't apply) are saying the job has become so so so much more work now than it ever used to be. That's before you get into the pressure to be involved in co- and extracurricular activities outside of school time, as well as the copious amounts of marking.

Then on top of all that you've got pastoral support: my teachers have been taking a lot of their otherwise free time (i.e. time they would have for marking/lesson plans/more work) to meet up and chat about me, or to just meet up with me for a cuppa and a chat because I've been away being miserable... They've literally gone above and beyond, and that kind of caring support is just another aspect of the daily job.

So so much respect for teachers. Not everyone can do it.

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

My mum is a special needs teacher. Until she had breast cancer, she worked full weeks, and would often come home late. Teaching is a very stressful job. She'd normally be home by around five, but a lot of time, in evenings and weekends, would be spent in lesson planning. It simply isn't a case of working from when the kids come in until they go home. Lesson planning takes up a lot of time.

You then have to factor in the other stresses that come with the job - unruly pupils, dealing with parents, the various meetings and so on. It's really not an easy job to do. I could never do it.

 

[Fredward]

Can we start a topic about how lazy engineers are next?

then perhaps we can just have a go at other jobs! Bloody professions!

 

[MattyH]

I have worked in a primary school in the reception classes and the amount of stuff they have to do is much more than you would think! Let alone how much a higher year teacher would do! Teachers are certainly not lazy!

So what would you call someone that doesn't turn up for work?

A teacher I know had to have time of because her dad passed away, are you suggesting they turn up to work?

 

[BigT]

BigT - I am personally offended by your views.

I am a Primary School Teacher and your comments are so far of the mark it's untrue.

I can only imagine the school upon which you base your rIdiculous views is inadequate, because any other school would not have teachers as you say.

I work 7.20am until between 5-6pm Monday to Thursday, usually trying to leave earlier on Friday. I mark my books daily, inline with our schools rigid feedback policy.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

So my Daughters "outstanding" school must be inadequate then because there is nothing she does that requires marking as such and the lights are never on after 5 pm so you must all be working in the dark.
I must just be an idiot that doesn't care about my family, how dare I go to work to try and better myself and earn a few quid, then have the cheek to complain when some highly paid teacher doesn't turn up for work but still gets paid, yet I have to take the day off unpaid.

I enjoyed the day off, but I'd rather have spent it on my terms at AT in the summer.

Can we start a topic about how lazy engineers are next?

then perhaps we can just have a go at other jobs! Bloody professions!

67 hours this week, even after having Monday off. Lazy engineers unlikely.

Mod Edit: Double Barnes.

 

[Sam]

67 hours this week, even after having Monday off. Lazy engineers unlikely.

You're saying you worked 16.75 hours per day last week? With respect, I don't believe you.

 

[Poisson]

the lights are never on after 5 pm

I believe some teachers prefer to take work home to mark than stay in school and mark it

 

[LiamC]

This is a very sad topic and the fact that people have this view of teachers is disgusting.

My girlfriend is currently in her last year of a Primary teaching course at university, so I feel I have some understanding of this. The training that goes into actually becoming a teacher is incredibly hard and competitive, and the planning that goes into just ONE LESSON is quite a lot of work, calling them "lazy" is insulting.

...then have the cheek to complain when some highly paid teacher doesn't turn up for work but still gets paid, yet I have to take the day off unpaid.

Just to pick you up on this point, I'll use this to put it into perspective how "overpaid" teachers are:

Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, causing recession, and so we have to take the money from elsewhere because of these greedy teachers, their massive salaries are a drain on society, and they only work for what? 9 or 10 months a year!

It's time we put thing in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit! Surely we can get that for minimum wage?

That's right. Let's give them £6.00 an hour and only for the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, holiday pay, pensions, etc, or any time they spend before or after school. It's only child minding after all....

That would be £39.00 a day (7:45 AM to 3:00 PM with 45 minutes off for lunch and planning, that equals 6 1/2 hours work per day).

We should privatise the schools, and the teachers, we'll pay it. Each parent should pay £39 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day? Maybe 30? So that's £39.00 x 30 = £1,170.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET'S SEE.... That's £1,170 X 180 days = £210,600 per year. (Hold on, somethings wrong here! My calculator must need new batteries).

What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees who've been doing it for years? Well, we could pay them a little more (£7.75 an hour), and just to be fair to them, let's round it off to £8.00 an hour. That would be £8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = £280,800 per year. Wait a minute, someone's messing with my calculator -- there's something wrong here!

There sure is:
The average teacher's salary (nationwide figures from Sept 2011) is just over £30,000. So £30,000 divided by 180 days = £166.66 per day divided by 30 students = £5.55 per day divided by 6.5 hours = £0.85 per hour per student.

Which is a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE our kids! WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Heaven forbid we take into account the rights of all workers (holiday pay, pensions, etc) or highly qualified teachers and heads...

Granted, some of those figures may be off the mark or slightly exaggerated, but it puts it into perspective. Don't be so narrow minded and don't listen to the media when they spout their crap about teachers.

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

So my Daughters "outstanding" school must be inadequate then because there is nothing she does that requires marking as such

Really? I've never heard of a school that doesn't have lessons that require marking. Literally every school does this.

Unless she goes to some sort of 'new age' school, which would be private and therefore completely different to a normal teachers job.

and the lights are never on after 5 pm so you must all be working in the dark.

Lots of teachers do marking at home. My mum does it. So did loads of teachers at high school.

I must just be an idiot that doesn't care about my family, how dare I go to work to try and better myself and earn a few quid, then have the cheek to complain when some highly paid teacher doesn't turn up for work but still gets paid, yet I have to take the day off unpaid.

Why do you care? It's not the fault of teachers if they get paid on a snow day and you don't. If you're so enraged, take it up with your boss.

I enjoyed the day off, but I'd rather have spent it on my terms at AT in the summer.

But you just said you didn't get paid for it. So theoretically you still have a holiday to use in the summer. Unless you were planning on having a snow day in July or something.

 

[Fredward]

Can we start a topic about how lazy engineers are next?

then perhaps we can just have a go at other jobs! Bloody professions!

67 hours this week, even after having Monday off. Lazy engineers unlikely.

I didn't even realise you were an engineer!

But I'm glad my quip had an impact!

 

[EuroSatch]

Your daughters school must be ever so understanding to allow you to be present at all hours breathing down her teachers neck to find out how they spend their day in and out of school. I should be careful though, hanging around watching the school grounds - even if it is for an innocent reason as to whether they are being environmentally friendly and ensuring all lights are off - can be a dangerous game.

Anyway, if you want to keep paying for your private medical insurance then hadn't you better focus on your own job and stop criticising others?

Of course, the above could've been said with two simple words that even an 'unsatisfactory' school would understand, beginning with fu and ending in off. Pretty sure there is a ck in there too

And your daughter doesn't do anything that requires marking? I'm amazed, she is obviously too good to be involved in the education system.

How on earth do you think her progress can be tracked if she isn't assessed?

Mod Edit: Double Barnes.

 

[Simon]

Best get to bed. There's NO SNOW, so I'm gonna have to spend a full day* (9 to 3) indoctrinating all those kids into my Marxist mindset.

Life sucks

 

[GAGrathea]

Pretty sure there's significant evidence that teachers die the soonest after retiring because it's more of a lifestyle than just a profession...also teacher suicide rates skyrocketing. It's a high-pressure job!

Certainly there are teachers at my school who find the job pays enough for now but worry they won't be on enough when it comes to starting a family, so it's hardly like they're wallowing in money

 

[Rowe]

I'm the daughter of a very, very hard working primary school teacher who is the head and sole scheduler of her year.

She spends her time dealing with box loads and piles of work every single day possible. Creating and sorting folders, organising schedules for herself and other teachers, organising work for the 20 odd children every month, dealing with their behaviour and assessing their progress every day, dealing with the stupidly high bar Ofsted inspections who threaten special measures and dealing with the stress of possibly losing her job if she makes the slightest slip up! This is even in her own time at home, she barely has a social life because of her job and how much is piled on year after year, she barely has enough money to support herself due to the small salary teachers get.

I worry for her so much because of how much she puts herself through to teach children every single week day; she works like a powerhouse but even that doesn't seem to prove ANYTHING to the inspectors who breathe down her neck every single day of her working life. The only thing keeping her in her job that she actually enjoys, the reason why she's in that career, is the satisfaction of teaching the future generations.

So tarring all teachers with the same brush is insulting to the ones who make that massive conscious effort to work full time even in their own spare time.

 

[GAGrathea]

On a side note just had to sort a few instances of double-posting, please try and use the handy 'Modify' button if you want to add to your post, or it'll be back to school for you!

 

[Adam]

Bloody hell! I'm thinking of becoming a teacher after uni, but judging by some people in this topic I may as well just forget about it, seeing some of the comments towards them on here. :

While there are some teachers from my old school/college I can very easily criticise for various reasons, the dedication the majority of them have is amazing, and I have great respect for anyone who is willing to be one, seen as it is a very important job in regards to society in general that I'm sure is full of pressure and needs a hell of a load of commitment.

 

[Bear]

BigT, are you one of these people who thinks people's jobs are easy if it requires little *physical* effort to do properly?

You strike me as the kind of person who thinks that the more insane hours and horrendous working conditions you deal with, the more respect you should get.

 

[Sam]

Bloody hell! I'm thinking of becoming a teacher after uni, but judging by some people in this topic I may as well just forget about it, seeing some of the comments towards them on here. :

Correction: one person.

You strike me as the kind of person who thinks that the more insane hours and horrendous working conditions you deal with, the more respect you should get.

He strikes me as a Victorian workhouse owner. Come on, you're not entitled to your bread and dripping until you've finished your sixteen hours on the threshing machine! Get back to work!