Sadly education has become a band aid catching social service overflow
I think this is one of the key things that people who don't talk to teachers miss. The cuts to other services, including in child mental health, has a huge knock on effect on what teachers are left to deal with beyond "teaching". Worse in some schools/areas than others, because those cuts in services haven't fallen equally geographically or socially.
TLDR (didn't read the thread) ...
Isn't it like asking if their are any happy nurses etc ?
Pay is not exactly amazing so it's more a vocation that then gets interfered with/lack of resources driven by KPI's they cant influence and they either suck it up becoming increasingly dis-illusioned or leave.
Sadly education has become a band aid catching social service overflow, I’ve dealt with a disturbing amount of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and mental health issues, especially post covid. Working with external authorities like the the NHS to provide evidence for a diagnosis and provide support for those in need was a weekly occurrence
I think it's what strikes me most. My partner is the head of a large primary and the shit she has to deal with is beyond belief. In her school's area the social services have been in special measures for 15 years.
She was open and running 3 classes out of 21. The teachers that were in school were in the wrong Union. Headteacher's Union did two surveys before strike ballot which were both in favour of striking and (IIRC) their ballot was the first in over a hundred years. She was disappointed that they did not meet the threshold.
When she sent letters to parents informing them about the strike action there were no comments in person at the gate either to her or her deputy head but some parents actually spent the time to email their support for the striking teachers which was much appreciated.
^^^^ that all sounds very familiar. It’s not just the kids they have to deal with but the parents too. Society is in dire straits when local Primary Headteachers are really propping up Social Services.
I am sometimes amazed at the extent of their responsibilities. She does her job, like most Headteachers for the opportunity to change kids lives for the better. Without them we really would be screwed!!
Were you aware that some of these may have been somewhere in the job description of a maths teacher before you applied? 😀
What s stupid question. What’s the point you’re trying to make?
I thought it was funny that a teacher sounded surprised that were skills involved in looking after kids, which was fairly obvious if you hadn't quoted quite so selectively. But, yes, I was going for a cheap laugh - which you seemed to also miss - because the person who posted the original quote sounded quite sensible.
Sadly education has become a band aid catching social service overflow,
I think this is the root cause of most of the issues in the public sector, it's certainly a massive issue for the police, NHS, probably fire brigade, councils seem to spend most of their resources on the welfare of a small minority.
We need a grown up and difficult discussion about what we do with the small minority of society who take up vast levels of resource. Do we increase funding to the level it needs to be at to work with people who aren't coping, at the level we like to think we should provide, will money be enough? Are there enough people prepared to work with these challenging people? Does intervention actually work, should resources be more targeted at those that can be helped the most? Would this create an ever growing population of dependant people?
I don't know what the answers are but expecting the police to understand all the nuances of mental health issues, teachers to cope with dysfunctional families, nurses to treat revolving door patients who can't or won't help themselves is not working, is burning out the services providers which is then degrading the service for everyone else which in turn creates a sicker society in every sense and fuels the increase in dependant people.
I think the idealised levels of support government like to say we provide is seriously mismatched with what we are capable of providing as a society at the moment. The gap is getting bigger and a lot of people are being failed. The wider population will not continue to put up with it, the strikes are a key indication of that, whilst money is a driver, working conditions and expectations on employees are regularly being cited as the cause of the issues.
@stumpyjon - i think you're on the money with that third paragraph. How that element is fixed is beyond me.
I don’t know what the answers are but expecting the police to understand all the nuances of mental health issues
My lad has only been in the police force for a week or 2 and he's already seen what I told him would be the case. The police in many ways are now the defacto front line mental health service.
I firmly believe we should be judged by how the most vulnerable in society are treated and cared for. No-one is born a burden. If that minority take up large resources then so be it. However, targeted intervention in so many situations can help save life's *and* money long term.
Trouble is there are wild fires all over the place and not even a plan on the back of a fag packet to put them out.
@Poopscoop I'd broaden that to all the public facing services.
Teaching MH issues in kids and families
Nursing, revolving door patients mass MH issues.
Police yep deal with MH issues, my wife is a DC and half her cases are due to mental health issues (I'd argue all but that's semantics)
Fire service
I’d broaden that to all the public facing services.
Teaching MH issues in kids and families
Nursing, revolving door patients mass MH issues.
Police yep deal with MH issues, my wife is a DC and half her cases are due to mental health issues (I’d argue all but that’s semantics)
Fire service
It's becoming a bit of a cliche in the media, isn't it? This public service can't cope because you, the public, is using it too much, or using it in the wrong way. Nothing to do with over a decade of everything being run down, it's YOUR fault. (And, of course, it's not MY fault, it's the fault of those unspecified idiots who use it too much! Probably poor people. Or immigrants.)
/sarcasm
Until I left last year (geographical reasons), I was pretty happy.
HOWEVER...
-I taught a "fun" subject (product design/electronics)
-Our department was small but amazing, really supportive
-The schools was pretty nice, with nice kids
-As a DT dept, the focus/pressure was often pointed at other departments
-If we got the results (which we did), we got left to it
I did some napkin maths the first year I taught, when I was getting all my planning and everything in place, and even working a few extra hours a day, I was coming out on top with the holidays. I don't mind working late in January if it means I get August "off".
I can certainly see how the work would get away from folk though, and the pressure can be debilitating. I have assorted family, friends and ex-colleagues who ended up off for months at a time with stress related conditions. Finding quick, efficient ways to manage the load worked well for me, but not everyone has that option.
As with everything, working smarter, not harder was a good policy. Spending hours checking simple homework? Stick it on a Google form and it'll mark itself, you can check and add feedback later. 200 year 7 reports to write? Invest the time in making a spreadsheet that will generate the reports for you, likelihood is you'll just be copy/pasting stock phrases anyway, so get Excel to do it. Etc.
Let's not talk about OFSTED though, eh.
One of the reasons I enjoy teaching more than speaking to Tesco happened today:
Year 7 - in an exam. One of the "spikier" student is obviously peeking at another students work so I start off with my most non-confrontational lines "I'd like to find out what you know, not her. Why don't you grab a seat up the front here so you can concentrate?"
She refuses. I admit it wasn't really a request. Move, thanks. Refused, I suggested getting a detention over swapping seats seems like a terrible waste of time. Finally, she moves, and on the way says to me:
"Don't even look at me, you disgust me!"
I sometimes think I should go back on twitter, just to create an account of "stupid shit students said to me today"
Been a teacher for over 11 years. It's OK if you have the following:
Up to date equipment.
Enough equipment for everyone.
Big enough rooms.
A space to do admin work thats not overcrowded.
Supportive management that listen to you.
A reasonable timetable.
But, a realistic scenario is: You don't have the correct equipment, and management don't think you need the equipment you ask for, even when they don't know the subject you teach. You are asked to teach 25 students in a room designed for 15. Then half the students don't show up. Management blame you. Parents blame you. Then students show up after being off for a month and parents expect you to put in extra hours to "catch them up". Then it's kinda hard.
Though now I just do my best and if I get fired I'll just ride my bike more.
I know a few teachers (mostly secondary) and not one of the secondary school ones are happy - for pretty much the reasons stated above. Completely understandable in my opinion.
It’s pretty much the same theme from all of them - love the “teaching” bit but dislike all the bureaucracy and ridiculous hours and expectations that comes with it. Only thing that keeps them in the profession… yep… the holidays. And for that reason - they feel trapped in the job. Again, completely understandable.
As a parent myself, I want my kids to get a decent education so they can survive life.
Many teachers I've talked to say they are working ridiculous hours and not having a life themselves. If I have time for my kids, then they should have
Why are they striking instead of doing something different? Like working to the 48hrs rule, on site, clocking on and off and demonstrating via time/motion that there simply isn't enough time to do their job as it's grown to be, thereby forcing the system to change to accommodate them, and attract further staff?
Why are they striking instead of doing something different? Like working to the 48hrs rule, on site, clocking on and off and demonstrating via time/motion that there simply isn’t enough time to do their job as it’s grown to be, thereby forcing the system to change to accommodate them, and attract further staff?
Presumably, their union has decided what they think is most likely to get the effect they want quickly. Teachers striking has quite a ripple effect which means politicians feel it directly, whereas teachers not doing extra stuff takes a long time before it has an impact. e.g. one of the first things teachers cut in the 1980s strikes was out of school clubs and activities. Thats probably still having a long term impact today with obesity etc but at that moment in time I am sure was a "so what" from government - lets face it if you are earning £80k a year in parliament your own kids are able to access clubs and activities privately even if the teachers stop.
Time and motion studies! Well I don't think anyone is disputing the workload. I'm sure studies have been done. I'm also sure that there are some intelligent efficiencies to be made - but the way schools are organised arguing with local management about how work gets done is different from arguing with the people who fund it locally and nationally.
Many teachers I’ve talked to say they are working ridiculous hours and not having a life themselves. If I have time for my kids, then they should have
That "should" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. 🙂
Why are they striking instead of doing something different? Like working to the 48hrs rule, on site, clocking on and off and demonstrating via time/motion that there simply isn’t enough time to do their job as it’s grown to be, thereby forcing the system to change to accommodate them, and attract further staff?
It's insane that people would argue for a long-term reduction in quality of service (and the knock-on this would have in terms of quality of education) over a one day strike.
Any teachers on here willing to admit they voted tory in the last GE?
Yep. Damn sight better bet than the thick headed hypocrits as an alternative.
However I do consider all polittians as parasites. We need to be run by professionals not glory seeking amateurs or those who think that their own little prejudice is important. By the time politics gets past parish level we are into ego trips not care.
No chance. Keeping the faith that we’ll manage to break out of this broken two party bullshit that’s ****ed our country over. If that means my vote is wasted by voting for an “alternative” then so be it
Less happy today. Horrible news about a colleague who was already in a horrible situation.
