[Closed] Teachers, how do you do it?

The first year is like that unfortunately. Most people say it never gets easier but it sort of does. In my opinion it takes about 4/5 years before the workload seems manageable and you are comfortable with your teaching.

It is one of those jobs where you never win and your to do list is as long as a piece of string. Experience allows you to triage those jobs and be comfortable with the fact that some things just will never get done.

That said if you wrap your head around it being such a full on job it is very rewarding and a lot of fun at times. I certainly don't think I will be a teacher forever (am 30 and have done this for 5 years now) but at the moment I am hard pressed to say what I will do in the future. Although setting up my own cinema sounds fun!

I hope she doesn't burn out and that the actual job itself if enjoyable for her to make the workload worthwhile.

My missus has just packed in full time teaching after 25 years and she has said its got worse in the last 5 years or so, she now does supply work and is much happier and has no stress. Its a proffesion she discourages anyone from entering. The government dont run flashy ads on tv to recruit teachers for fun, its a tough stressfull job with very long hours and its our wonderful leaders that have made it that way by putting baffoons like Gove in who piles on the work and pisses everyone off. If you want my advice tell your missus to get out of it!

Her hours in the last 5 years have been similar to what your OA works now, personaly imho I think thats how it will be for a while until something drastic changes, which wont happen anytime soon unless the whole teaching proffesion band together and tell said idiots in power where to stick all their targets etc.

Although setting up my own cinema sounds fun!

The first year is like that unfortunately. Most people say it never gets easier but it sort of does. In my opinion it takes about 4/5 years before the workload seems manageable and you are comfortable with your teaching.

It is one of those jobs where you never win and your to do list is as long as a piece of string. Experience allows you to triage those jobs and be comfortable with the fact that some things just will never get done.

Married to a teacher. Pretty much agree with all the above, it is extremely hard to start with but does get more manageable.

It is one profession I would not recommend. Too much meddling by successive ministers more concerned with their own career progression and a growing number of stroppy unsupportive parents. The press are usually pretty good at damning teachers too.

@slowoldman. No spare room but looking at the BFI guide for community cinema sounds fun!

Sounds like a lot of other jobs. Mrs Nobeer, who's a nurse, quite often comes home from a 12 hour shift at least an hour later than she should do, and with her uneaten lunch and dinner still in her bag.

Then spends another couple of hours fretting and worrying that she's made a drugs error.

It does get better,she should contact other probationers and do a wee bit of group chat in case they are all making the same courses up. It has got worse in the last 5 years,and isn't going to get better. We are the "blob" remember.

A lot depends upon your school. I've been protected from a lot of the crap that schools make teachers do because we're post-16, but it seems to be creeping in.

I qualified as a primary teacher, did four terms and then left vowing never to set foot in a classroom again; I was in a dodgy school with weak management and feral kids, which wasn't great for my NQT year. By accident, I ended up teaching in a sixth form college, where I've been for the last 13 years.

There seems to be a mismatch between what Ofsted say (no lesson plans needed, no need for huge amounts of written feedback) and what senior leadership in some schools say that Ofsted want (ridiculously details lesson plans for every lesson and copious written feedback on every piece of work).

I've just quit after a few years as general science, A' level biology, physics and maths teacher.

The hours are not worth my health and I'm rubbish on 5 to 6 hours sleep.
The kids were great though. There is no support for teachers and poorly behaved kids are ruining it for the others but nothing - no punishment or expelled. Maybe one day off for punching a teacher in the face. Every move is watched and scrutinised by seniors who undermine and never worked in the real world/stiff as deadwood lol.

You end up working and planning during holidays and schools closing rooms to save money!

I'm happy with working in the finance sector in London for double my wages and half my hours.
The commute is a pain, and I leave at 6-7 pm with early starts but do what I want on the weekends.

Bankers seemed stress too but I'm finding it really easy and have time to do what I want for a few hours each evening (no kids) but teaching I couldn't even ride and worked during my holidays.

Might go self employed next year.

Teachers don't get the respect, wages or work/life balance.

Teachers don't get the respect, wages or work/life balance

In a nutshell!

My brother became a teacher 7 years ago, having previously worked in electronics and communications. He teaches science at what is a pretty rough school in a run down post industrial area, and he loves it, much prefers it to working in industry.

The first couple of years were very hard, and he still has hard times, but the successes and the good days far exceed the rewards that most of achieve working in industry.

I don't want to try and say it is an easy job, it can clearly be very difficult, but I also do believe that as a profession teaching has an unrealistic low view of itself compared with the outside world.

Not worth the hassle to teach someone else kids if they don't want to be there 😯

Weak management seem to be terrified of OFSTED so they pile on the demands for endless unscientific data and the pointlessness of a lot of this stuff adds massively to stress. People don't mind working hard if they're building up their resources and techniques to make the future a bit more relaxed and manageable but when the demands change every year you realise what an utter waste of energy it has been. If you stay in teaching long enough the 'new' ideas get circulated every few years in a slightly different guise and a new politician's name attached to them. Gove was a cut above the rest in terms of asinine sniping and demoralising teachers to the extent that now there is a crisis in recruitment.
MrsMC goes round about 100 schools in an advisory capacity and she has never known a year for such staff loss and turnover. She has to spend forever updating her database. Plus she comes home reporting about teachers she has known and respected for ages talking about how they can't wait to pack it in.
Having said all of that I'm just about to do a maternity cover for 6 months after 18 months of blissful and productive early retirement. But it's only A level teaching in a rural post-16 college, so quite different from the demands on primary teachers, plus it's a subject I taught and examined for 35 years. However, I've already done 25 hours of unpaid work for it. That's what it's like.

This;

There seems to be a mismatch between what Ofsted say (no lesson plans needed, no need for huge amounts of written feedback) and what senior leadership in some schools say that Ofsted want (ridiculously details lesson plans for every lesson and copious written feedback on every piece of work)

Culture of fear and a lack of trust in us as a profession seems to be the root cause.

I think I have had enough with the profession then I get involved in discussions on it and realise how much I actually care about education.

Successive governments (since the 80s) have failed to assign teachers the value they deserve.

That has trickled down to the parents now and nobody respects them, least of all the kids.

Being a good teacher in a "challenging" (essentially, full of kids on free school meals/poor) school is hard, and not many people can cope.

My wife is a department head in a "good" school (i.e. mostly middle class, all girls, catholic). She still spends a significant amount of time dealing with discipline issues.
Also, whilst she has a wealth of resources from the 10+ years she's spent teaching, she still spent 6 hours yesterday lesson planning for a new A-Level syllabus.

A friend of mine works at a 'good' school in a middle class area. He is currently being made to teach 4 different A-levels and has exam classes at GCSE from 2 different exam boards.

There is the job being tough by its nature and then there is making it tough for the sake of it!

Eventually when 'they' realise they have broken the system so much they will walk away and let teachers just get on with it.

I hope.

I don't think they will ever let teachers 'get on with it'. It's a process of both de-skilling and micro management so that eventually you won't have to be qualified or particularly knowledgeable to follow the programme/syllabus, wages will be pushed down further and classrooms will be full of unemployed teachers from other parts of the world. Except, that is, in private schools.

Replace teachers with robots and online tutorials.

Now where did I leave that robotics/Java for dummies book?

The quicker we accept education for non private schools is cr4p and underfunded for teachers/students/parents the happier everyone will be 😆

In Scotland we have had CfE to replace old exams and entirely new course specs in the last 5 years. On track with learning,a data inputting service that makes you input a lesson plan for every child you teach.It was meant to be the other way about,but they realised you couldn't allocate classes of pupils to the lessons,but hey ho! Launched it anyway. You submit materials for the new exams to be "prior verified" as the SQA requests,and they are using the stuff you are putting in to actually build a resource bank of materials. That is a kicker bearing in mind every resource you have made and used needs changed to meet the new cours specs....Any jobs Frankenstein? 😀
That is the nuts and bolts,and not dealing with the increase in so called tracking and monitoring which involves writing a report on every pupil every month.

Blows me away how badly-run education is, how much work teachers put in only for something to change and their workload increase again, time after time after time. It's why I get so annoyed on the "taking kids out of school for cheap holidays in term time" threads.

Its a proffesion she discourages anyone from entering

Probably the worst people to go to for advice therefore are the people who should be most supportive and nurturing - the established people in the staff room.

My mother was a teacher. She put me off it with this attitude when I showed interest in studying it after school. I didn't realise then what I do now. Perhaps if I was keen enough I would have ignored her and followed it. Perhaps if I did I would be telling others how bad it is.

Teachers don't get the respect, wages or work/life balance.

This - in a nutshell!

My wife is a science teacher in a secondary school, has been a teacher for 15 years.

I'm a head of Maths (I'm off today as I'm booked into hospital tomorrow and have had some nasty prep medications to take today).

It gets easier after 4-5 years, I'm in my 7th year now...but the one thing that is so draining compared with other jobs is the lack of downtime.

I get in at 7:30am and by 8:05am it's started.. you then literally rarely get a second to breath until 3:15pm. I often have my lunch then and then start again working until about 6pm

It's not so long hours in that sense for me, but barely getting a minute to take a break during the day is really tiring mentally and physically.

That said, I'd not change it. Pays well when you've been going a while and have extra responsibility, plus 13 weeks off is nothing to sniff at (yes we work in the holidays, but you can still have a lot more time away than 99% of other folk).

And the best bit for me is the upside of the intensity.. you are never watching the clock... Quite the opposite, you are constantly looking at it thinking "crap I've got 5 minutes to get this done before whatever else starts". The day flies by every day!.

Its not all doom and gloom, and for me the second year of being qualified was by far the hardest. You get used to it and also more efficient the longer you do the job.

Being in different schools can be very different, I'd advise any teacher having a tough time to experience different management teams above them as they all have very different approaches.

I've packed in teaching after10 years teaching secondary science.

No regrets about leaving- says it all!

Bits were good, bits were bad, I was stressed for significant parts of the year.

Current job seems much nicer.

One word - Management.
Or to put it more bluntly, Tyranny.
Ruins everything it touches.

One word - Management.
Or to put it more bluntly, Tyranny.
Ruins everything it touches.

People who are good teachers are not necessarily good managers, or indeed business people which is where the "Head" role is going now for academies.

Mrs Dubleyou's head is clueless on budgets etc.

I've been a:

postman, industrial cleaner, environment officer/geologist, business man, manager, call center bod, data entry bod, computer bod, ski man, grape picker, UK science teacher, ELF teacher, holiday rep, garage mechanic, ski man, precision driver, barman... .

There are only two on that list that I wouldn't do again and only one in which I was confronted with violent, racist scum who hated me because of what I was - a teacher and white. The swear filter prevents me from adding anything useful about the headmaster.

Choose your school very carefully or get out.

I asked a probationer in the school I work recently how things were going.
He described it in one word "relentless" which I thought was very apt.

The day certainly passes pretty damn quick. Personally it is getting a little more manageable, but I do think of quitting often. I am learning how to be more efficient, what has the biggest impact, and not too take too much of it home.
I spend about 2+ hours extra a day in school most days, there is a lot of pressure due to "evidence" and loads of unnecessary administration.

. On track with learning,a data inputting service that makes you input a lesson plan for every child you teach.

This isn't a national thing in Scotland and I've never heard of it. Where are you teaching?

I once worked in a government organisation jam pack full of ex-teachers who suprisngly were all trying to get people to become teachers. Washed out, egocentric, lacking all common sense and wouldn't know what to do with a PC if it told them.

A******les to a man.

Mrs M left teaching from primary in a "special measures" school after being hounded out by a nasty piece of work replacement head who has since left with the school still in "special measures". The school is in a sink hole town with high unemployment etc and all the schools in the area are currently failing/special measures due to the unrealistic targets being set. She loved teaching but the workload was immense and relentless with planning, meetings, marking, levelling and reports. 60-70hr weeks continuously.

The only original teachers left at her school are just hanging on till they get a full pension in a few years time. The boil in the bag NQT they drafted in to replace my wife last half a term before buggering off saying there must be more to life than workIng like this!

A******les to a man.

Aristotles?

My other half is a primary school teacher, has been for more than ten years now. She leaves for work at half seven, gets home at about six. Usually has her tea and can then be working until ten/eleven pm on her laptop. She takes Saturday off but is back on the laptop Sunday evening, she wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'm a cop and we do work shifts and get days off cancelled but at least when I get home that's it!

I feel like I work fairly hard as a teacher but nothing like what some others are saying.

Although there are issues aplenty in Scotland it sounds like the workload is still a little saner.

Teachers don't get the respect, wages or work/life balance.

No different to doctors then, who on the whole are in a worse off position on all of the above

 

Sounds like a lot of other jobs. Mrs [s]Nobeer[/s]Gruntfuttock, who's a nurse, quite often comes home from a 12 hour shift at least an hour later than she should do, and with her uneaten lunch and dinner still in her bag.

This. Her daughter is a teacher & seems to enjoy the job!

I, like Frankenstein and several others on here it would seem, have taught for three years and am currently on a 'sabbatical' while I assess my options. I'm also a science teacher and worked in other sectors for 10 years before making the move into education. I went in eyes wide open but have still been shocked by the workload, the relentless pressures and the appalling lack of respect from some quarters.

The tipping point for me was when we adopted in April this year. I already have one child but the thought of not ever getting to know this new addition was too much. I loved much about the job but didn't want to risk my relationship with my own children while educating those of others! I'm lucky in that I have other skills and experience on my CV to fall back on. I still remain in education, but on a freelance basis that doesn't require 70-80 hour weeks.

Many of my colleagues in school were sadly looking at their options, but for some who had gone into teaching straight from Uni there was little else that they could reliably side step into. The notice periods (at the end of the term you are in) are very restrictive when looking for alternative jobs outside of education without breaking a contract and letting your class down. I regularly read about the predicted teacher shortage and agree it is inevitable - making the pressure on those left even greater. Two science teachers (from a dept of only eight) have already left since the start of this academic year in my old school. Poorly equipped NQTs who have been dropped into high pressure jobs in already under staffed departments.

I'd struggle to recommend it as a profession to anyone at the moment. I know some schools are better than others, and certainly some subjects are less intense than science, but still. Those that had been there a while spoke of the downward spiral in recent years but it's such a shame that what can be such a fantastic job at times become too much of sacrifice for me and my own family.

I'm a teacher, my wife is a teacher. It is really hard work for both of us. In the first couple of years of teaching it was incredibly hard work. Rather than having a rant about it here are some tips or suggestions that I would offer to help new teachers get through the early days without burning out:

1. Recognise that your own well-being and your relationships with loved ones, family and friends are far more important than your job so make time for yourself and those that you care for.

2. As a teacher you are only (a small) part of a life-long process of learning so don't feel you have to 'solve it all' for the children you teach.

3. You role as a teacher is to help guide, encourage and inspire, not to perform and provide the answer to every question. Children will often be able to do more than they realise given the opportunity but all too often we (as teachers) don't think there is time so we end up trying to make things easier by helping/intervening and end up creating a rod for own backs as children become dependent rather than independent.

4. Don't set more homework than you can get marked and back to your pupils in good time. This may be less relevant at Primary level, I'm not sure.

5. Make out of work leisure commitments that have nothing to do with teaching [b]that you keep to[/b] such as going out for a meal, the cinema etc. Again I appreciate that this may be difficult with young children but if you can get wider family/friends to support this then do!

6. If and when you can commute by bike then do! It is a great way to wake up to the day and to unwind from a long one in the classroom.

In my experience there is [b]always[/b] more that you could do to prepare your lessons so that they are the best, most exciting, engaging educational extravaganzas that any child could ever want for but before you put that extra 6 hours of work in at the weekend reflect on what it is that gives you your 'spark' as a person as this is what makes you a good teacher. Don't let a potentially misplaced sense of duty and responsibility to your profession allow this to become extinguished. Good luck!

Good advice waliboy

I'm a teacher (Primary), as is the OH (Secondary). I got through my NQT year last year. My training year was horrendous, unlike others (it seems) my training year prepared me very well for my first year of teaching. Last year I had a lot of work, but not as much work as my training year. This year I'm beginning to manage a lot better - I don't have to get my head around as much, I mark a lot quicker and can recycle some lessons planned from last year (last year everything was new).

Not all my lessons are great, some are, others I stand there knowing the lesson is terrible as I'm delivering it. But they are very rarely the ones that are top of my priorities.

I was about to reply to this until I read Waliboy's post, particularly:

1. Recognise that your own well-being and your relationships with loved ones, family and friends are far more important than your job so make time for yourself and those that you care for.

Have been teaching for 5 years (secondary science/chemistry) and really enjoy it. Took a while to find the balance but once I realised that I do my job better if I'm happy and rested then life got better.

Waliboy +1
I'd love to add more - but we've got OFSTED in tomorrow 😕

15 years here, Science, mostly Physics teaching. Today I cycled 18 miles each way to school (I try to do this once a week) by the long, countryside route. Last night I built a new fatbike wheel (I'll occasionally ride that to work too, but only if it's attached to the bike). Will aim to get out for a solo night ride once per week. These allow me to totally switch off from school. My wife also knows how stressful it can be and makes allowances too.

I work in a school where SMT let us do our jobs and support us, and our exam results are pretty damn good year after year. I've also worked in one where the Head constantly interfered and created masses of unnecessary work which meant everyone was stressed. Even in good schools some of us are stressed, some less so. I have done other jobs in various industries but this is the only one where I really have to think.

Prioritise. Look for short cuts. Borrow other peoples resources. Look at how the 'old lags' do things to make life easier (e.g. me, solo, marking coursework in my van for 3 days in the Lakes in my hols, interspersed with short walks and a 2 day overnight bikepacking trip as reward at the end). Get lots of sleep - I will not work after 9:00pm as it affects my sleep. Eat well. Exercise. Have fun stuff to aim for in the holidays ( I go cycle touring somewhere new each summer - Spain last year from Santiago to Biarritz which took my mind off work both in the planning and the travel). Don't let other people drag you down with their petty grievances (which is the case in any job), just accept that some people are like Dementors and determined to suck the fun out of everything.

Plan your career in 5 year blocks and have an exit plan (I've been asked to go back into outdoor retail and also asked by a shop to build wheels recently, declined politely, but kept those options open). My route out will probably be as a Science Technician as we don't need vast sums in order to have fun. Don't be afraid to turn down responsibilities as they can add massive amounts of stress.

Good luck, it does get easier

Thanks for the comments, especially waliboy. Today wasn't so bad, not back too late and she only has a little bit of work to do tonight.

FunkyDunc - Member
Teachers don't get the respect, wages or work/life balance.
No different to doctors then, who on the whole are in a worse off position on all of the above

Is that a joke? Doctors are paid a hell of a lot better than teachers, unless I've entered one of those parallel universes

14 years as a teacher, 13 in current role as Primary School Science teacher. First 2-3 years are the pits. But now I find the actual prep/delivery quite straight forward. Its the admin that slows me down (341 report cards to write for next week!!). I love the interaction and that I have license to go "off track" if kids/media lead us there. It can feel that management overlooks and adds extra crap but i have the feeling that's most jobs.

My best decision was to have my "if it can't fit in the bag its not going home" rule. especially as we now have our 2yr old and the demands that brings.

Look for those shortcuts...
www.schoolreportwriter.com if the school doesn't use a template system.
sserc for cheap but amazing science cpd
www.pstt.org.uk - free science cpd (for primary teachers) and ideas
a subscription to twinkl is great for displays/planning/ideas

Make use of onenote etc to create workbooks that can be used year on year. Office lens can scan docs and make editable word documents from them - handy if you've only got photocopies left.

4 years into teaching having been an engineer before. It does get easier, but it takes a bit of a mind shift to realise you can't do everything, my housemate is also a teacher and for the first year we really struggled till we made up a new rule:

Latest allowable leaving time is 6:30 pm
No more than 6 hours work allowed at the weekend
6 "cheat" cards allowed every half term - which allowed you to extend your working shift by 2 hrs.

It sounds a bit lame - but it really worked, there was a punishment for going over to keep it relevant. We learnt a lot about prioritising work and having to leave stuff if needs be. I'm aware it may sound lazy but on reflection I'm a far better teacher for doing less work outside class but having the energy to teach properly day in day out.

Spin - Member
. On track with learning,a data inputting service that makes you input a lesson plan for every child you teach.
This isn't a national thing in Scotland and I've never heard of it. Where are you teaching?

Be very afraid...History and Modern Studies for me.
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/angus-the-mearns/pupil-progress-still-monitored-in-angus-despite-teachers-reluctance-to-use-web-based-tracking-system-1.692886

The courier HATES teachers,so the comment at the bottom says more. I moved last year to a school that doesn't do it just now BUT our primary clusters are doing it this year. It is also based on SEEMIS class lists being completely accurate,and I'm sure you will be aware of the chances of that.

Get into teaching, then get out of it into the admin side if you can, or go international to make some money, teach in nicer schools, and live in exotic lands.

While the idea of teaching in rural Scotland is all well and good, teaching in Antigua, where an ex colleague has just moved to, or admin role in Monaco where another is, or Shanghai, Bangkok, Syndey, Atlanta are all certainly more fun, pay generally better, and allow for less stressful holidays and that feeling of dread when returning to work.

Is that a joke?

Nope starting salary is similar, for similar/less hours. Heads will earn more than many Consultants.

Actually scratch all I have said, have just been shafted on my performance management despite passing it all.

All which means no pay rise for me and now am looking to leave teaching/school.

Bunch of ******!

Be very afraid...History and Modern Studies for me.

Sounds like it was just an Angus thing? What kind of data were you required to enter? TBH it sounds like the classic local authority thing of some people sitting in a room and coming up with an idea that looked great on paper and was sh!te in practice.

My top tip is to ensure any marking you do asks questions of the kids and gives them work to do which they then do for h/w. Two birds one stone.
Also use mail merge to give feedback which sets tasks which they do as h/w

Is that a joke? Doctors are paid a hell of a lot better than teachers, unless I've entered one of those parallel universes

They're both underpaid, stressful and highly important jobs. Divided we fall...

[i]All which means no pay rise for me and now am looking to leave teaching/school.[/i]

If you're a good teacher just leave the school, not the profession. Please.

Chris do you want a chemistry or psychology job?

Teachers, Doctors, Nurses, all state employed, prior to that went to uni, prior to that school. All of them to a man whine incessantly about how difficult and over worked they are. Bollocks frankly. Yes they work hard. Harder than the private sector in general? Nope. They tend to get poorer salaries but get vastly better benefits. I wish they'd stop whining and just get on with it or they can go down the mines and really have something to complain about.

Also who said teachers have no work life balance? Are you kidding? They get 14 ****ing weeks off to have a life, get a grip.

It's not like they have to worry about getting the sack either.

not even sure where to begin deev - do you know anything about teacher's contracts of employment (particularly at Academies and Free Schools), job security and what they do with their '14 **** weeks off'?

Dont feed the troll. Simple fact is if teaching was easy and a cushy number people wouldnt be leaving in such massive numbers.

......but they get six weeks off in the summer! 😉

Seriously though, from my mate, it seems to be far too much work pacifying the likes of OFSTED and the fads of whoever the current government. It sounds like its changed a hell of a lot since i were a lad....not for the better though, but isn't every sector of business overly and unnecessarily complicated today anyway?

One issue is everybody has spent 11 years with teachers and hence everyone believes they have a first hand valid opinion. Teaching recruitment is the worst I have seen in over 20 years. Male teachers are getting as rare as 26".

Deev I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and award you 1/10 for your very poor attempt at trolling. It wasn't funny or clever, just clichéd and predictable. If you weren't trolling then you're just very stupid, crawl back under your rock please.

My mates a teacher, head of department, he hates the incessant whining that goes on, sees no reason why in service days are done during term time and not during the months of holidays.

There's folk whining that they get up at 7 and get home at 6 and still have work to do. Sounds like theyre crap at managing their time to me. I start at 6 (up at 5) finish around 6 most days in retail (store manager, £10 million turnover) my wife starts at 7.30, finishes about 5.30 in banking and neither of us regularly gets a break.

So yeah teachers work hard, they also get massive amounts of holidays and ace pensions and if you think they have it harder than the private sector you're having a laugh.

Plus there were only 17 teachers sacked for incompetence in the last decade. Stress? Get a grip.

You know when inset days were originally introduced they reduced the length of the school holidays during a year by one week so no teaching time was lost?

So by all means have them in the holidays but give the week back first, eh 😉

Need to be at work 12 hours a day to be store manager? Sounds like you're crap at managing your time to me.

My contract is for 10.5 hours a day, it can and often does run over a bit. Do you see me and others like me whining all over the internet and going on strike about it? No. So I have no sympathy for pampered public servants doing so.

(store manager, £10 million turnover)

Oohh hark at you clever clogs, what do you want, a Blue Peter badge?

Actually no. I apologise, I know peoples lives are probably at risk in your store & their future is in your hands, so you have a valid comment.

The Troll is trolling......

10.5 hours a day? You need decent union representation mate 🙂

Teachers don't get the respect, wages or work/life balance.

No different to doctors then, who on the whole are in a worse off position on all of the above

Teacher here - went "part time" a few years ago to help look after children, so do about 35 hours a week leave at 7:00 and get back 6:30 3 days a week + 3 evenings working. Work load and expectations def. getting worse

Wife is a doctor "part time". Starts surgery about 8:20 and often not back until 9:00+ at night...

Just saying 😐

Haven't read the whole thread, got bored of the bleating. For perspective, lots of other professions have it as bad, or worse than teachers, you just don't hear about them moan about it as much.

you just don't hear about them moan about it as much.

Perspective, innit bro?

Oohh hark at you clever clogs, what do you want, a Blue Peter badge?

Actually no. I apologise, I know peoples lives are probably at risk in your store & their future is in your hands, so you have a valid comment.

The Troll is trolling......

I train and develop my staff too, many of whom come to us unable to read or add up properly despite the "hard working" teachers best efforts...

I do have a valid comment, it's my private sector taxes paying teachers wages so I can comment all I want.

deev - Member
I do have a valid comment, it's my private sector taxes paying teachers wages so I can comment all I want.

Even though it's (conceptually at least) my taxpayer donated salary keeping you in work.

Just saying.

Haven't read the whole thread, got bored of the bleating.

So you just gave free reign to your prejudices instead. If you'd read the thread you might have noticed that the OP and most of those saying teaching is tough are non teaching friends, relatives or partners of teachers. Most of the teachers are saying things like 'it gets easier' or 'here's some tips for managing your time'.

But why let that get in the way of an entrenched viewpoint?

Thing is deev, you talk about the private sector as if you and your wife's jobs are typical of all private sector workers. They're not!

Yes I am a teacher. Yes I get 13 weeks a year holiday. But I also worked in the private sector for 15 years in sales (1 sales person - me - annual turnover of a business employing 70 people = £5m). I left 2 years ago as I got bored of sales. I currently work around 700 hours a year more than in my previous job and feel I have more responsibility for those 28 children than I ever did for those in the company I worked for.

I'm not moaning it's just the way it is, I work harder, get paid less but enjoy it a lot more.

What I think is the problem for most teachers is that we all want to do our best for the children, but it's very difficult to do this when there is very little time to recharge the batteries!

For what it's worth, my other half is mostly only complaining to me and its not so much whining, more gentle sobbing. For perspective she is in her 40's and has plenty of experience of working in other sectors and this is by far the toughest in her experience. In my own work I find spending 6 hours teaching kids to ride bikes pretty tiring but at least I don't have to do another couple of hours work when I get home.

Other than as a customer I have no experience of the retail industry and wouldn't feel qualified to comment on your experience of, or the validity of your attitude towards, your job.

Even though it's (conceptually at least) my taxpayer donated salary keeping you in work.

Just saying.

Lets face it, the public sector do far far more complaining than the private sector and like to make out that they're all put upon martyrs being worked to the bone for a pittance.

As for working harder, my mate gets a morning break, a lunch hour, and has free periods every so often too. As for marking, you only need to know as much as a 6th year kid at the most so its not exactly difficult.

I don't reckon you could cut it as a teacher deev.