Teacher training days

simplethings

As others have pointed out, the inset days were not days taken away from the education of the children. Those days came out of the holidays that the teachers had. It is difficult to have the same inset days across an area for many of the reasons already stated. In my area we try coordinate the days. However, we all have different needs and they come at different times in the year. My school TRIES to attach them to the school holidays for the convience of the parents. However, we still get "told off" because it is not useful for some of the parents. So, we do have some in the middle of a week. Again, we can only satisfy some of the parents. They are a government regulation that we take them and they cannot be taken DURING a school holiday as they are above school holidays.

Funny reading this thread and then going into the holidays board and hearing parents fuss about the rights they have to take holidays during term time because it is cheaper for them.

I don't get that luxury. I can't afford a holiday this summer because of the cost during the summer holidays are too high and I can't go during school time. Thus is life and I will just have to chill in my garden with a paddling pool and a vino.

hieveryone

simplethings wrote: »

I don't get that luxury. I can't afford a holiday this summer because of the cost during the summer holidays are too high and I can't go during school time. Thus is life and I will just have to chill in my garden with a paddling pool and a vino.

No doubt someone will come along and tell you that as a teacher you should be able to afford it :rolleyes:
Because we're all on super duper wages eh?? :rotfl::rotfl:

milliebear00001

What a stupid statement.
Thats like asking why we arent all fighter pilots or zookeepers.

Yes, it's exactly like asking that - answer to the first is because academically, I couldn't qualify to be a fighter pilot and it's a dangerous, life threatening job, answer to the second, I don't like animals or shovelling s**t. My point remains, that nobody chooses their career 'because otherwise we'd all do the same job' - nobody ever asked themselves that question when chosing their career. If you really thought teaching was a holy grail of cushy umbers, you'd have trained to do it - you'd be extremely stupid not to.

What amsues me, especially reading 'teacher' responses in this thread, is the way in which you portray yourselves as hard done by but also academically elite in some way.

Teachers haven't portrayed themselves as hard done by - they've responded to unfair comments by people who have no idea what the job is actully like. We are academically 'elite' as you put it, in the sense that we are a profession, and like all professions, require a degree to do our job. I don't see that as being particularly elite, but perhaps you have hang ups about being 'educated'?

hieveryone

milliebear you speak a lot of sense! I honestly do not get the 'teacher bashing' that goes on. Yes, I'm a teacher. I'm EXTREMELY proud to be a teacher, I have worked stupidly hard to get where I am and love the job. Yes, it has downsides, but so does every job and the pro's far outweigh the con's.

I think most people seem to have the view that teachers think they are the be all and end all, when it is not like that AT ALL. I couldn't be a nurse because I just couldn't deal with shift work/narky patients/etc etc. So fair play to the nurses, I have a lot of respect for them. Similarly, a nurse probably wouldn't want to be a teacher, because she/he has CHOSEN to be a nurse.

Anyone who loves their job will undoubtedly defend it to the hilt. Anyone who 'bashes' another persons job is probably unhappy in their own job and holds a bit of jealousy that someone loves what they do

milliebear00001

hieveryone wrote: »

milliebear you speak a lot of sense! I honestly do not get the 'teacher bashing' that goes on. Yes, I'm a teacher. I'm EXTREMELY proud to be a teacher, I have worked stupidly hard to get where I am and love the job. Yes, it has downsides, but so does every job and the pro's far outweigh the con's.

I think most people seem to have the view that teachers think they are the be all and end all, when it is not like that AT ALL. I couldn't be a nurse because I just couldn't deal with shift work/narky patients/etc etc. So fair play to the nurses, I have a lot of respect for them. Similarly, a nurse probably wouldn't want to be a teacher, because she/he has CHOSEN to be a nurse.

Anyone who loves their job will undoubtedly defend it to the hilt. Anyone who 'bashes' another persons job is probably unhappy in their own job and holds a bit of jealousy that someone loves what they do

Yes,I think you may have hit the nail on the head. People seem so resentful of teachers - it's bizarre! I am in the fortunate position of being a teacher, and having had another career before this, so I can see both sides (I am also a parent). I chose to become a teacher because it was a job I really wanted to do, and I've never regretted it, but I know I could be earning a lot more money somewhere else!

dizziblonde

I just love the way people love their children, want them to succeed and learn (excluding those rare cases who just want them not to annoy their parents and stare at the TV) and yet constantly undermine teachers and schools. In my old school they used to do this for years in the infants, tell the teachers off for telling their children off... then by the juniors they would come in and say "he won't do anything I say - can't you do something with him?" and expect a miracle.

And for what it's worth - teacher training days now = no money for me since I only get paid for the time I'm in front of a class, so the nice holidays etc people grumble about aren't a factor. I just hate seeing such a dedicated group of people (yes we have the odd staffroom fossil counting the days to retirement) who put their heart and soul into the job, often to the detriment of their own family life, constantly bashed and demonized - and on many occasions treated much worse than that by parents.

And like people have repeatedly posted - the Baker/Inset/Play bulls*t bingo days were taken from teacher's holiday entitlement years ago and are a nationally set regulation that we HAVE to go through. The dates vary according to school needs, as does the content - although there are often common themes when the Govt changes things as they enjoy doing... so some are for in-school review of systems/policy/internal moderation of work etc, some may be for SEN issues etc, sometimes clusters of schools get together to pay for a speaker they might otherwise not be able to afford. Generally around here they're the Mon/Fri before or after the hols... occasionally that's not appropriate and teachers don't live in splendid isolation - they have to sort out childcare when their children's schools have these days as well (I've felt sorry for teachers' kids more than once when they've been dragged into school with their parent as their own school was off... day off school - to spend IN school poor things!).

Bashing teachers for something that they HAVE to do though is the wrong way to go - petition the Govt for change, petition the heads of local school clusters to organize dates a bit better... but bashing those at the chalkface (or is it whiteboard-face these days) is the wrong target on this one - cos generally the mood around school isn't "Woo hoo we've got Inset on Friday" it's "Oh gawd it's Inset on Friday" (with a side order of - at least I can wear my jeans to school for once).

Oh and shoot the creator of PowerPoint.

laurad85

I'm a student teacher and work between 50-60 hours a week, ive never worked so hard or been so tired in my life. All the 'holidays' i've had so far i've been ill in, i seem to sleep for the first few days and then start feeling unwell. All my friends think im lucky getting all the school holidays, but what they dont realise is im constantly doing work in this time or in school doing revision classes. I look forward to teacher training days because i get to work with people i usually wouldnt get to and like learning new things.

hieveryone

Good luck with your course Laura!

laurad85

hieveryone wrote: »

Good luck with your course Laura!

thanks, i have to have my masters in for this friday (did everybody know student teachers have to do the first year of their masters along side their teacher training year?) and then i have 2 weeks left. YAY!

hieveryone

I think it depends where you are Laura - I'm in Scotland and it's a 4 year honours degree (plus a dissertation) or a one year post grad if you already hold a degree. In my case, I went the 'long route' and qualified as a nursery nurse first before uni, so I ended up studying for 6 YEARS to be a teacher!