W T F 😕
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-19556730

Trollish sort of article that – Why the Scottish term starts in August is probably a good question.

The public ear is not at the teachers’ disposal on this issue, however. You’d find more people who think bankers deserve bigger bonuses than those who think teachers deserve longer holidays.

Why the Scottish term starts in August is probably a good question.

Tattie holidays innit.

More likely the fact that exam results are posted earlier. don’t think even teachers want more holidays.

Bankrupt Scottish Government cutting school/teachers hours to save money

The education system generally in the UK is bankrupt! My daughter is a primary teacher and spent the first 2weeks of her “holidays” stripping and cleaning her classroom in prep for start of term. She has spent the last 2 weeks of the holidays preparing lesson plans. She regularly spends upwards of £20 on materials for class work(we have also subbed this!)
Having lived with a family of teachers for some time and spent a fair bit of time in schools when my kids were going through their education it certainly p*********s me off when people start having a go at them 😈

geoffj – Member
Why the Scottish term starts in August is probably a good question.
Tattie holidays innit.

Historically in Oct. I used to drive the tractor and trailer that the “howkers” tipped their baskets into. Later I had to then grade and bag the tattles 😆

As I always sat to those who complain a about teachers holidays and pay. Why not go and re train and get all our “perks”

Of course those who complain never do. Wonder why, lols.

Ignorance in respect to the education system in the uk is off the chart.

You guys just don’t know what goes on.

Imagine the stink if the holidays were cut to two week sin the summer and kids were absolutely banned from leaving school outside this window. Prices of holidays would sky rocket.

Oh and watch the headlines I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple of weeks a new initiative is introduced in education. This gov seems to like to stir up anger about the public sector before sticking the knife in, with the mob’s newly riled support.

Ignorance in respect to the education system in the uk is off the chart.

Oh teh ironing

“You guys just don’t know what goes on.”

it is true – i live with a teacher and its crazy how much outside of school work needs to be done – she does 8-1800 in school and then comes home and has tea then does more on top most nights and most of sunday afternoon or a very stressed evening on sunday. Admittedly it has been better now shes in her third year of teaching but still – the ammount of extracurricular things that need doing to make a school run and to maintain your job – it seems that showing up and teaching your classes then leaving afterwards is severely frowned upon.

*oh and im neither for nor against more holidays im just stating fact.

Rubbish, we don’t want more holidays, and who are school leaders Scotland? Never heard of them myself. Geoffj; while you are posting on here are you aware that lots of goats are crossing your bridge?

I’ll agree with trail rat, my other half has been teaching in an academy for 4 years, the amount of preparation she has to do each evening is astonishing!

She gets in at 6, has dinner then works till midnight preparing lessons and marking.

It said teachers in Scotland spend 855 hours a year in class

So just less than 25 weeks per year based on a 35 hour week

Add 20% to that for lesson prep etc., and you are looking at 30 weeks per year out of 52

Given the economic climate, job cuts and pay freezes in other public sector professions, it seems a little naive to publish and then promote a report of that ilk.

Ignorance in respect to the education system in the uk is off the chart.

Ignorance in some parts of the teaching profession also needs addressing.

Ignorance in respect to the education system in the uk world is off the chart

FTFY.

geoff – im wondering if that figures corrected that most positions advertised for working in schools over the last few years are NOT full time.

stevewhyte – Member
As I always sat to those who complain a about teachers holidays and pay. Why not go and re train and get all our “perks”

Interestingly I’ve had a few conversations with teacher friends along similar lines. They all moan about their pay / conditions / hours / etc – I point out they could go and work elsewhere and see if it is better. They don’t even need to retrain.

geoffj – Member

It said teachers in Scotland spend 855 hours a year in class

The full sentence without culling it to suit your personal agenda :

It said teachers in Scotland spend 855 hours a year in class, compared to an international average of 704 hours in early secondary school.[/i]

Fourth country from the left

Ernie – I’m more interested in comparisons with other professions in the uk.

the 855 hrs is divided by usually 5 1hr slots = 34 weeks

I guess it depends on the subject but surely the lesson planning stuff gets drastically reduced in subsequent years? I know it did for my brother teaching English (he even re-used someone else’s lessons plans for his first year). Sure there’s marking to do but working 12+ hour days implies they’re not very organised…

Ernie – I’m more interested in comparisons with other professions in the uk.

So you don’t want to make logical comparisons which compare like for like then ?

Instead of comparing the Scottish teaching environment with other teaching environments, you want to compare it with other, completely unrelated, working environments ? Why ?

I used to teach, I can tell you that it was by far and away the hardest, most demanding and draining job I have ever done. The planning etc I didn’t find tough or that time consuming, it was the constant demands from the kids, the management etc that just made it so draining. I couldn’t hack it and gave up, it made me a physical and emotional wreak. From 8 until 3.30 you did not get a minute to yourself, either setting up, morning tea ‘duty’ lunch duty’s data input, assembly’s etc etc. it’s not just the time infront of the class, it’s all the other things.

There were many things about the job that I loved, but I will never teach again. Unless you’ve done it I suggest you shut the hell up, it’s a tough job.

I guess it depends on the subject but surely the lesson planning stuff gets drastically reduced in subsequent years? I know it did for my brother teaching English (he even re-used someone else’s lessons plans for his first year). Sure there’s marking to do but working 12+ hour days implies they’re not very organised…

To an extent true, but the govt keeps changing what we are expected to teach.

The expectation of what constitutes a ‘good’ lesson also changes every year so the goalposts keep moving.

Doesn’t the report also highlight that Scottish teachers are amongst the very highest paid (8th in that league table IIRC)?

My wife reckons nursing is a lot tougher/more stressful. You might want to argue against that but

Unless you’ve done it I suggest you shut the hell up.

druidh – Member

Doesn’t the report also highlight that Scottish teachers are amongst the very highest paid (8th in that league table IIRC)?

Which proves that Scottish teachers don’t spend above the international average time teaching ? 😕

druidh – Member

My wife reckons nursing is a lot tougher/more stressful. You might want to argue against that but

Wow, read what he put again.

alexathome » I used to teach, I can tell you that it was by far and away the hardest, most demanding and draining job I have ever done.

geoffj – Member
Ernie – I’m more interested in comparisons with other professions in the uk.

Posted 45 minutes ago # Report-Post

No you aren’t.

EIS membership in Scotland; 60,000
School leaders Scotland; >300

Only one of the above has suggested we should have longer holidays.

Which in turn would suggest you are trolling.

And you might also want to read the last part of his post, the part where he says that you are only allowed to comment if you’ve ever been a teacher. That rather restricts opinion, don’t you think?

My wife reckons nursing is a lot tougher/more stressful. You might want to argue against that but

There is no need for me too, I have never been a nurse, but I can imagine that it would be a lot tougher than teaching. Not only do you have to deal with drunk idiots and unthankful people, you have to deal with folk dying, plus you get worse pay and have to do shift work.

Like I said, I have never done it, but I would support any pay dispute that they had also, it’s an incredibly tough job, I’d imagine and one that offers little in the way of reward.

That rather restricts opinion, don’t you think?

Only whether it’s tough or not. Can you pass judgement on whether doing something is tough without actually doing it ? I suppose you could offer your opinion, but it’s unlikely to be particularly valid compared to someone who has had the experience. And that goes for most things in life.

Indeed. And since we can assume that alexathome hasn’t tried every profession available, can we also say that he’s not in a position to say how relatively tough teaching is?

That’s why I didn’t waste that teaching was tougher, or less tough than (insert profession of choice). There is no need to be argumentative, I agreed with your wife! I daresay that a lot of jobs are ‘tougher’ but like you say I have no basis for comparison, however it was by far the toughest job that ‘I’ have done.

Just thinking back to being personally responsable for classroom of spotty idiots let loose with dangerous machinery has given me shell shock, I’m off for a lie down. 😥

Have a wee Balvenie first 🙂

I’m not passing judgement but i’ve several freinds who are teachers and they talk about thier jobs a lot and guess what… some say its a nightmare (some have left the profession) and some love it and to be honest i get the impression a lot of it is to do withe the particular school. One of my friends has just moved schools and cannot believe the difference, she was very stressed and was infact very ill as a result (took her over a year to recover) and she seriously contemplated leaving, she moved school and is absolutely loving it and sees a good future. I must say she does put the hours in and is VERY organised which i suspect is part of her sucess. As I say i honestly think there is too much interference in the school especially by the school govorners who can in some cases cause huge problems and wield a lot of influence over school. this is of course my own experience and limited to what i’ve been told by people in education (and as a parent).

“You guys just don’t know what goes on.”

Yes we do and some of us are not happy about it.

geoffj
It said teachers in Scotland spend 855 hours a year in class

So just less than 25 weeks per year based on a 35 hour week
Add 20% to that for lesson prep etc., and you are looking at 30 weeks per year out of 52

Can I have this teaching job, where it only takes 12 minutes to prepare a 1 hour lesson, please? Oh, and mark the work done within the lesson.

I am required to be in work for 200 days per year. In one week, I have 23.5 hours of contact time. That’s 940 contact hours per year.

Using your 20%, that’s 1128 hours per year – a 32 week year based on a 35 hour week.

In reality, it takes about an hour to prepare a one hour lesson. (I’m lucky in that I teach the same lesson to multiple classes. Primary teachers teach each lesson once and may be preparing two or three different activities for some lessons.)

Using my 100%, that’s 1880 hours per year – a 54 week year based on a 35 hour week…

Teachers need more holiday?

No I don’t think so. In fact I’d have to say they have a damm cheek!

In my local mountaineering club we have many club trips; abroad, to Scotland to the South Coast etc. I don’t have the time to go on many of these as I only have so much leave (5 weeks in fact).

The teachers will insist that these are held in the schoold holidays (fair enough)and most of them go! So where is all this ‘I spent the last two weeks of my summer holiday preparing for the new term/marking’ etc.

Its all bull. They just need to learn to organise their time better like the rest of us and make do with what you have.

Teachers need more holiday?

No I don’t think so. In fact I’d have to say they have a damm cheek!

One person (who, as far as I can tell, isn’t a teacher) has looked at a report and made some daft announcement. I don’t know of a single teacher who thinks they should have more holidays.