Teachers on Strike

bylromarha

JReacher1 wrote: »

Its a difficult subject to discuss teaching as people get very sensative about it on this board. The belief mentioned by some of the "sensative" posters on this board is that those teachers who find teaching easy are "bad teachers" and those teachers that struggle with their workload as they are not very good at organising their time are "good teachers".

Its sadly not that simplistic.

Alot of people posting about how hard it is aren't in fact teachers so only post what they've been "told".

A couple of actual teachers have posted and it doesn't sound like they have a bad life at all!

Unlike you who is basing their entire experience of teachers on your friend...

I find teaching easy. I love it. It's the best job in the world. If only the in class teaching was my sole job. :rotfl:

I (and sadly my family) tolerate me arriving in school at 7.45am, leaving it at 6pm, having had a 30 min lunch break (25 mins of which is getting the classroom ready for the afternoon). They tolerate me working every evening marking, planning, prepping after the kids dinner and bedtime, and at weekends, and for around 3 weeks of the summer holidays, and for half of every other holiday given ,because I love the buzz in the classroom and love helping children to learn and succeed.

The family help me laminate and cut things out, they mark simple things like homework and tests for me and they also put up with the shopping trips for among other things baskets, and boxes, and glue, and ribbons, and role play toys, and playdough ingredients, and going to car boot sales to pick up cheap books/toys/jigsaws for my classroom (none reimbursed...)

I have never, ever, reached the end of my "to do" list. In 13 years of teaching. My to do list has just got longer through successive governments telling me to complete pointless paperwork that is "needed" to help the children's education.

Come spend some time with my Year 1s - 30 5 year olds who need to pass a phonics test in June - around 20 of them don't have any support at home, so I chase them round the playground every break time flashing cards at them. A lot of larger companies have paid volunteer schemes, some go to a school and see what actually happens rather than base your understanding on that of 1 secondary maths teacher.

JReacher1

I couldn't handle primary school teaching. I agree that's a lot harder than secondary school teaching. I did 2 weeks work shadowing in 2003 when I was considering teaching and it put me off.

They are different beasts primary and secondary school teaching.

For one thing you don't get the free periods.

JReacher1

gregg1 wrote: »

You do have a nasty habit of making sweeping assumptions. You have no idea what my career has entailed or, indeed, that of many other posters on this thread.

You are beginning to sound suspiciously like another poster who was recently threatened with being PPR'd and who also has an aggressive manner when posting!!

I've been accused of being numerous different posters. It seems the default position when people don't agree with me!

It's getting a bit tiresome

lazer

gregg1 wrote: »

Well what was stopping you then?!!!!

I said I would swap 28 days flexible holidays for 65 days fixed holiday.

Didn't say i would be a teacher and since I have trained for 7 years for my own career - I'm not going to go back and change now.

I did actually apply for teaching at one stage but they wouldn't accept my degree for primary school teaching - but yet would have accepted me to teach Maths at Secondary - but wasn't what I wanted.

gregg1

JReacher1 wrote: »

I've been accused of being numerous different posters. It seems the default position when people don't agree with me!

It's getting a bit tiresome

I appear to have touched a nerve!

Also interesting to hear that I am not the only poster to have rumbled you.

goonarmy

Premiership Footballers do better than teachers but if someone moved their goal posts(literally or metaphorically) should they they stand by and accept it too cos they are well paid? Thats an idiotic arguement.

GwylimT

whitegoods_engineer wrote: »

Its funny, so far, nobody has written the 'My wife's a teacher, goes to work at 5am, marks books until 3am and spends entire holidays preparing lessons'

Lets face it, Teachers work a short day, a short year and have massive holiday entitlement.

If you work from 9-3 daily with 17 or so weeks off a year, this is part time working for a full time wage so please teachers, just stop moaning.

Add the actual hours worked in a year and you'll find that teachers receive, pro rata, a very good wage.

Could you imagine anybody in private industry moaning at such benefits????

Teachers should accept that they are actually doing rather well.

I'm a full time teacher of 11-18 year olds. I work from 7:30 am on a normal day (earlier during exam season and during coursework etc), I leave school at 5pm as I have children, I get their tea sorted, play with them and have them in bed by 7pm, I then continue working until 10pm, again during exams, coursework etc this is much later.

I work on Saturdays but try to limit it to when my children are in bed and where possible I don't work on Sundays. During the holidays I tend to continue working every evening as I attempt to avoid working during the day and like to keep the bulk of my work for when my little ones are in bed.

As a teacher I have zero holiday entitlement, because teachers are not paid for their holidays. When I look at the hours I work and average it over the year I am working on average 280 hours a week, if I was paid for my hours worked I earn before tax, national insurance and my pension £7.09 an hour.

If you want teachers to work 9-3 that is perfectly fine, if you don't mind teachers not bothering to plan lessons, mark books, set homework, mark homework, mark coursework, attend parents evening, provide school trips, finish the end of the school day or supervise children waiting for buses who are intent on running into the road.

If you don't care that there are zero resources for your children that is perfectly fine, but as a teacher and a parent I believe children deserve a good education. As you want us to work 9-3 you obviously don't value an education, in which case, why bother sending your children to school.

I see so many people, parents especially telling me how crap teachers are, yet they are sending their children to school, so either they really are stupid people, or simply don't care about their children.

whitesatin

GwylimT wrote: »

I'm a full time teacher of 11-18 year olds. I work from 7:30 am on a normal day (earlier during exam season and during coursework etc), I leave school at 5pm as I have children, I get their tea sorted, play with them and have them in bed by 7pm, I then continue working until 10pm, again during exams, coursework etc this is much later.

I work on Saturdays but try to limit it to when my children are in bed and where possible I don't work on Sundays. During the holidays I tend to continue working every evening as I attempt to avoid working during the day and like to keep the bulk of my work for when my little ones are in bed.

As a teacher I have zero holiday entitlement, because teachers are not paid for their holidays. When I look at the hours I work and average it over the year I am working on average 280 hours a week, if I was paid for my hours worked I earn before tax, national insurance and my pension £7.09 an hour.

If you want teachers to work 9-3 that is perfectly fine, if you don't mind teachers not bothering to plan lessons, mark books, set homework, mark homework, mark coursework, attend parents evening, provide school trips, finish the end of the school day or supervise children waiting for buses who are intent on running into the road.

If you don't care that there are zero resources for your children that is perfectly fine, but as a teacher and a parent I believe children deserve a good education. As you want us to work 9-3 you obviously don't value an education, in which case, why bother sending your children to school.

I see so many people, parents especially telling me how crap teachers are, yet they are sending their children to school, so either they really are stupid people, or simply don't care about their children.

OR, they see school as a child minding service so that they can do their own thing, maybe?

JReacher1

GwylimT wrote: »

I'm a full time teacher of 11-18 year olds. I work from 7:30 am on a normal day (earlier during exam season and during coursework etc), I leave school at 5pm as I have children, I get their tea sorted, play with them and have them in bed by 7pm, I then continue working until 10pm, again during exams, coursework etc this is much later.

I work on Saturdays but try to limit it to when my children are in bed and where possible I don't work on Sundays. During the holidays I tend to continue working every evening as I attempt to avoid working during the day and like to keep the bulk of my work for when my little ones are in bed.

As a teacher I have zero holiday entitlement, because teachers are not paid for their holidays. When I look at the hours I work and average it over the year I am working on average 280 hours a week, if I was paid for my hours worked I earn before tax, national insurance and my pension £7.09 an hour.

If you want teachers to work 9-3 that is perfectly fine, if you don't mind teachers not bothering to plan lessons, mark books, set homework, mark homework, mark coursework, attend parents evening, provide school trips, finish the end of the school day or supervise children waiting for buses who are intent on running into the road.

If you don't care that there are zero resources for your children that is perfectly fine, but as a teacher and a parent I believe children deserve a good education. As you want us to work 9-3 you obviously don't value an education, in which case, why bother sending your children to school.

I see so many people, parents especially telling me how crap teachers are, yet they are sending their children to school, so either they really are stupid people, or simply don't care about their children.

Teachers are not paid for their holidays? That's a new argument!

So when you finish in July you don't get a pay check for august?

I think you probably do

My other question is this average of 280 hours a week you do. You do realise that there is only 168 hours in a week? I can't help but think this is an exaggerated figure!

purrrrrfect44

JReacher1 wrote: »

Teachers are not paid for their holidays? That's a new argument!

So when you finish in July you don't get a pay check for august?

I think you probably do

'Teachers this summer when someone accuses you of being paid for doing nothing:

First, kindly explain them that you've already earned that money, and that you city/ town has been withholding 25% from each of your paychecks since September.

Next, patiently explain to them that you have in effect, given your city/ town a 10 month, interest-free load, which your city/town is now just paying back.

Then, sip you margarita, close your eyes, and continue to work on your well deserved tan.