Overworked teachers

Ah yes, inset days. Occasionally we actually learnt from them, often they were a waste of time, too often.
Also heads did things like getting people in to teach us First Aid (good and necessary) and using funds to have the sessions in a hotel instead of the school hall (why?!). The same head would come back from headteachers' weekend courses and tell her cronies what a marvellous time she'd had and how other guests had complained to management in the early hours about the noise they were making. Impressive, not!

If it's so bloody wonderful being a teacher - with those alleged fabulous, carefree holidays and fantastic pay - why is there more and more difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers? Surely, if it's that cushy, many people would be clamouring to become teachers and would definitely not want to leave.

I have not been a children's teacher but, much later in my working life, I re-trained to be an adult literacy teacher. I enjoyed it immensely BUT the amount of work I had to do outside the classroom was, for me, unsustainable. There were termly schdules of work, individual learning plans, plans for each teaching session, plus preparation for tests, marking homework, etc. etc. And I was working with the most lovely students who were really motivated and respectful. How much more difficult it must be doing all this preparation at the same time as keeping an eye on students who might be having difficulties with bullying in school or at home and who might, as a result, be disruptive or unmotivated in class.

Although I enjoyed the work very much and felt appreciated and respected by the students, in the end I returned to my previous work as a legal secretary because I was exhausted (and significantly out of pocket).

Briefly we call them Inset days jacksmum which signifies in-service training. There are five Inset days in the academic year and schools can choose when. We use them to brush up on our skills, sometimes inviting specialists to come and lecture and advise. I think they were introduced alongside the National Curriculum in the late 1980s.

Just wondering if teachers here could tell me what happens on "teacher training days" ? as there were never these days when i or my children were at school.x

All the old chestnuts! I used to get into school before 7am. Perform for 5hrs a day, work through lunch, attend mindless, admin-generating meetings, go home (evenings/weekends) and look for resources to inspire 25 bottom set 16yr olds and my other 100 pupils. I was given 3 hrs a week for marking, assessments, admin, lesson plans (sometime they take 30mins per lesson) etc. A 50yr old came up to me at a course I was helping to run on a Saturday, he said he thought he'd always worked hard in business, he had no idea what exhaustion was until he started his 2nd career. Teachers have responsibility for your grandchildren's futures. Oh and I had a tutor group of 30 to mentor and emotionally support. If you haven't tried doing it, don't knock it.

Interesting about the coloured pens - I never used a red pen unless it was to draw a smiley face so it stood out - I did all correcting with a pencil - I always thought it must be so disheartening for a young child to spend ages labouring over a piece of work just to see it covered with red ink!
As they got a bit older I gave a max of three spelling corrections of words I thought they should know how to spell because of that particular child's frequent use of the word.

Oh yes Suddenly there was a run on green pens. Red was completely abandoned!

I'd forgotten about the pen colour thing. Don't use red to correct things because of it's negative context.

Some of it is such a silly waste of time. Being told what colour pens to mark with instead of picking up whatever is handy, doing written marking for infants who can't read it, telling a child something and then writing down that you told them!

I worked in a school for 30 years as a TA and senior meal supervisor. The early years were lovely but as Blair and his education education took hold and then the conservatives taking over it became stressful and the enjoyment wasn't there head teachers came and went and all with different agendas, so I was glad to retire. My friend still works at the school but she is not happy, she has a few years before she retires yet.
She was saying To me the year 6th do not know how to use scissors. Can't believe that because that is something we did in the early years, learning to cut, use a pencil properly, drawing, painting, nothing is done like that anymore.

Deedaa ?

When I started teaching you went into school on the day before the start of school just to get organised but by the time I finished there was a long list of the dates when the school was open- spreading all through the holiday. It is very difficult to see a friend who is still teaching in the holidays because she spends so much of it in school. And yet still people trot out ' but think of the long holidays' - they have no idea!
You can never get to see your own child on sport's day or anything in the school day or take them to the orthodontist etc because you can't have time off.
My son and wife can go off camping if they get a nice weekend. They are not teachers! Teachers never get a weekend- one day of it is school work - every evening is school work.
I used to do supply work for a young teacher who amazed me with her organisation, everything was left just so - sadly I then covered for her because she was off with stress!

I know the stresses of teaching , my Mum and my Sister were teachers . I wasn't but worked 8am to 5 pm , that's if I got my paper work done , was "on call " one evening per week and every other weekend , the paper work for that was something else , everything had to be written up there and then . My job involved a lot of physical heavy work and ruined my back and I now need a hip done . I loved my job and regretted having to retire , but couldn't do it after 60 . Sister got early retirement , a lump sum and a pension , plus did locum when she could be bothered ............ I am still glad I didn't do teaching !!

Isn't it amazing how someone earns millions because of respect for their ability to do their job but teachers, etc., are expected to do it for the love of the job.

SiL teaches teenagers. He usually starts early in the morning, stays late in the evening and has to go into the school during the holidays. He was hoping for flexibility as well. He's currently off work suffering from stress and anxiety.

I was a primary school administrator for 20 years starting in 1993 leaving in 2012. When I started my car was the last one in the car park at 5 pm but gradually all cars where still in the car park at 6 pm.

I did not get paid for holidays paid for 46 weeks per year. Although I had to go in you cannot just leave everything for six weeks.

I watched, as over the years school was just as busy during holidays as term time, when I retired. All teaching staff working long hours then, of course, teacher's had marking to do at home.

I still meet up with my colleagues now and although I loved the job and the school I am glad I finished when I did as it is getting worse. My replacement took the job because she had children and said "it will be flexible". She had a rude awakening.

All the teachers and support staff at the school I worked at were given self defence training. From simple advice like not letting the parent get between you and the door to how to get out of a choke hold. There were parents who none of us would see alone because of safety fears. No one should have to work in that sort of environment.

My phone was ex-directory to prevent evening and weekend calls from parents and, my claim to fame, one evening I answered a knock at the door to find a parent holding a knife who was accusing me of racism as I had made her child stand near the wall (a standard time out punishment) longer than the other boys he had been sent there with. She said that I had kept him there longer than the other boys because I was a racist. I pointed out that the other two boys were Asian and that race had nothing to do with it. I had kept him longer because when, after two minutes, I said they could go and play he had laughed at me and told me he hadn't been punished. So I kept him there for another five minutes. She turned to her son and demanded to know if it was true and he, obviously as scared as I was, admitted that it was. She apologised and walked off telling her son in no uncertain terms what she would do to him if he ever told her only half a story again.

Oh the joys of teaching.

It isn't the money - it is the workload.

jogginggirl

41!

The two younger members in our family ( teaching in London and Nottingham) are not wanting more salary, but less children to teach, and more TA help in the classroom neither of which will be happening soon.

The young teacher that is quitting, is prepared and going to take quite a susbstantial pay cut in order to do so.
I suppose it depends on where you are teaching, but where I live, wages are generally low, so teaching wages in comparison isnt too bad.
Her issue was not with amount of salary she earned.

Not at all saying it is the same elsewhere.

And I have no idea if teachers get paid the same wages for the same grade in all parts of the country[I presume London teachers get more for teaching in London].

My DD is a Yr 6 teacher. She loves teaching and she loves her children - she is an inspirational teacher. However, she is being slowly but surely worn down by all the demands - after 15+ years of this profession she is at breaking point.? She worked in HR for six years before she returned to Uni to qualify as a teacher which meant she walked away from a very good salary, company car and other benefits. Teaching was always her passion. How sad I feel now when I look at her and others in this profession - it is non-stop pressure, demands for data, demands from parents, demands from LA's, demands from the Government, endless report writing, and then meetings to discuss all of the above!! Where is the time to actually teach, nurture the children, be alert to those in real need and catch them before they fall, where is the time to plan, mark, communicate and feel as though what you are doing actually counts? My DD has 41 children in her class and rarely has the benefit of a TA. She comes home every night exhausted usually after a 9-10 hour day. She quickly eats, shovels her dd off to bed and then works for the next few hours until she falls into bed. Weekends are the same, holidays are NOT holidays - she is frequently found in school or behind a pile of books or simply preparing for the next term. My DD has M.E. and Fibromyalgia, she is a single parent (divorced). We lend a good deal of support, she would not be able to manage if we didn't. She is now considering applying for a lower level teaching job before leaving the profession altogether....I could weep for her and often do?

It wouldn't matter how much more teachers were paid ( in state schools) because it wouldn't help with respect.The respect has to come from the pupils and their parents, to make any difference to a teachers life.
Any extra money should be used for more classrooms and more teachers, so that no teacher has to have more than 25 in the classroom.

'Want to solve the recruitment crisis? Simples. Pay teachers more and treat them with the respect they deserve'

Retired from teaching last July, cannot believe the improvement in my life and health. I loved what I did ,but after 30yrs could not believe the stress and pressure that is heaped on teachers. I can't imagine why anyone would choose teaching as a career these days.