Inset Days vs School Holidays

lostinrates

LandyAndy wrote: »

Having lived with a teacher / headteacher / education consultant for 25 years I can confirm that it is a lot more stressful and demanding and time consuming than my own chosen career (I'm a chartered accountant). Nor have I ever been attacked, punched, bitten, had furniture thrown at me, had my thumb broken etc etc by anyone I've worked with. My wife has had all of those things many times (ok the broken thumb was only once).

I was attacked once in cells by a client when working as a clerk and cell staff were great. ( I think prison officers get under or around £20k on average rate? ) I am willing to bet they get a fair amount of flack.

I was routinely attacked, bitten, and have incurred injuries from livestock when they first arrive with me or when I was in a visiting role. I found my work rewarding and enjoyable in otherways, which is what motivated me.

I'd say both these jobs were less stressful than my husband's current role, despite the threat to physical person.

Nicki

Exposure to difficult situations isn't the sole domain of teachers though it doesn't happen in all professions granted. As a lawyer I have been threatened with gang rape and assault and been harassed many times Nd I don't even do criminal law! I know of many lawyers who have been assaulted sometimes even in court. I suspect the probation workers, social workers, police officers posting on here would also agree.

You have in any event taken my post out of context. If you read the thread I am supportive of teachers and do consider it a challenging and difficult profession. I just don't think it is necessarily more challenging and difficult than all other professions and if teachers are saying that non teachers can't express an opinion on how hard their job is, it follows that they also can't express a comparative opinion that their job is harder than all or even most jobs if the only job they have had is in teaching.

duchy

I'm surprised that any graduate believes what Gregg is claiming.
Most degrees expect some level of critical thinking , research and detatchment.
I wonder what he teaches...If history does he tell students that they can't hold an opinion on an historical event as there weren't actually there, geography.....not seen a volcano erupt so can't understand the science, English- can't study Wilfred Owens as never experienced war etc etc

gregg1

LandyAndy wrote: »

Having lived with a teacher / headteacher / education consultant for 25 years I can confirm that it is a lot more stressful and demanding and time consuming than my own chosen career (I'm a chartered accountant). Nor have I ever been attacked, punched, bitten, had furniture thrown at me, had my thumb broken etc etc by anyone I've worked with. My wife has had all of those things many times (ok the broken thumb was only once).

My wife was a chartered accountant before she went into teaching and would agree wholeheartedly with you.

gregg1

duchy wrote: »

I'm surprised that any graduate believes what Gregg is claiming.
Most degrees expect some level of critical thinking , research and detatchment.
I wonder what he teaches...If history does he tell students that they can't hold an opinion on an historical event as there weren't actually there, geography.....not seen a volcano erupt so can't understand the science, English- can't study Wilfred Owens as never experienced war etc etc

Well, You have just made my point for me. If are going to leap immediately to a conclusion based on what you think or assume you know then there is a chance you may be wrong. Nowhere have I said I teach!!

gregg1

Nicki wrote: »

Exposure to difficult situations isn't the sole domain of teachers though it doesn't happen in all professions granted. As a lawyer I have been threatened with gang rape and assault and been harassed many times Nd I don't even do criminal law! I know of many lawyers who have been assaulted sometimes even in court. I suspect the probation workers, social workers, police officers posting on here would also agree.

You have in any event taken my post out of context. If you read the thread I am supportive of teachers and do consider it a challenging and difficult profession. I just don't think it is necessarily more challenging and difficult than all other professions and if teachers are saying that non teachers can't express an opinion on how hard their job is, it follows that they also can't express a comparative opinion that their job is harder than all or even most jobs if the only job they have had is in teaching.

I agree, of course there are other professions which have to deal with difficult situations. I do think though that teaching is one of the most heavily scrutinised and criticised (often, I think, unfairly, although sometimes deserved I admit)

I did take exception, however, to someone suggesting that Inset session days are scheduled in a way to appease teaching staff. That, in my opinion and experience is just not true and rather unfair.

GobbledyGook

gregg1 wrote: »

I agree, of course there are other professions which have to deal with difficult situations. I do think though that teaching is one of the most heavily scrutinised and criticised (often, I think, unfairly, although sometimes deserved I admit)

I did take exception, however, to someone suggesting that Inset session days are scheduled in a way to appease teaching staff. That, in my opinion and experience is just not true and rather unfair.

Surely the point is 'in your experience' though. Just because you've never experienced inset days being scheduled to appease teaching doesn't mean it doesn't happen in some places.

Maybe it's because of the nature of the job I did, being in an out difference schools each week, but I can imagine it happening in some schools. I've certainly seen some teachers lean on their SMT to include (or not include) certain things from inset days.

In some schools teachers, well actually in my experience some teachers in a school, have had things run the way they want them. I've witnessed on one occasion a parents night date being changed to suit two teachers (despite not suiting considerably more) who had the ear of their particular head.

Too often people are too quick to generalise. If I based my opinion of schools on the first one I worked in I would huddle my children around the dining table and never let them set foot in one. It was awful. The HT was weak, the clique of teachers and Deputy who ran things seemed to think they were running a 1900's borstal rather than an average primary school in a normal town. However I'd give a kidney to have the HT of the last school I worked in to follow my children through their education because she was amazing.

Just because it doesn't happen in your school, or your country (as the debates earlier showed the issue wasn't someone talking rubbish, but things being done different in different places) doesn't mean it doesn't happen elsewhere.

gregg1

GobbledyGook wrote: »

Surely the point is 'in your experience' though. Just because you've never experienced inset days being scheduled to appease teaching doesn't mean it doesn't happen in some places.

Maybe it's because of the nature of the job I did, being in an out difference schools each week, but I can imagine it happening in some schools. I've certainly seen some teachers lean on their SMT to include (or not include) certain things from inset days.

In some schools teachers, well actually in my experience some teachers in a school, have had things run the way they want them. I've witnessed on one occasion a parents night date being changed to suit two teachers (despite not suiting considerably more) who had the ear of their particular head.

Too often people are too quick to generalise. If I based my opinion of schools on the first one I worked in I would huddle my children around the dining table and never let them set foot in one. It was awful. The HT was weak, the clique of teachers and Deputy who ran things seemed to think they were running a 1900's borstal rather than an average primary school in a normal town. However I'd give a kidney to have the HT of the last school I worked in to follow my children through their education because she was amazing.

Just because it doesn't happen in your school, or your country (as the debates earlier showed the issue wasn't someone talking rubbish, but things being done different in different places) doesn't mean it doesn't happen elsewhere.

I am not saying it doesn't happen anywhere. I am saying I do not think it happens as often as the poster appeared to imply.

duchy

Jumping to conclusions again ?

Where did I say it happened in all or most schools ...or even frequently ? I commented I had first hand experience of it happening in the school I was working in. It was you jumping to the conclusion I was teacher bashing and was saying it happened at all schools. You appear to be looking for "soundbites" rather than reading in context.

Carmina-Piranha_2

FBaby wrote: »

I have to say I agree with this, not a difference of one or even two days, but what can be up to a full week.

I was surprised when I realised that my DD secondary school only have one inset day this year, and that was the first day starting in September. They were totally reduced after becoming an academy. I think my son's school number of inset day is what is set by the LA, that is 4 annually.

However, a friend of mine who lives in a different county was telling me that her DD school has 7 inset days a year, which seems incredibly excessive.

Are all 7 INSET? We have 5 INSET, one day off for voting, and another for May Day.

Next year we will be an academy. Can they really reduce the INSET days? Does that mean more than 190 days of education?