FabSwingers.com forum: Teaching

By *lacksausage OP Man
over a year ago

Birmingham Airport

I think society is killing this profession and NOT govt or educ policies. I came across the following comments and thought I'd share.

Indeed, but those who've not worked in a school seem to be of the opinion that because teachers aren't at school teaching during school holidays that they have 13 weeks free time. This is very much not the case. I'm not a teacher, although I do work in a secondary school. My contract includes working through the holidays (which is great for me, we get so much more work done when there're no teachers / kids about), and you can guarantee every single teacher will be in school for a large proportion of the school holidays, and even when they're at home they're spending a lot of time marking / preparing for the new term. I know one teacher who is in work every single day of every single holiday working his socks off.

To the OP: I can only say "don't do it". Really, the abuse you'll get from the kids (even the young ones) isn't worth it. If my health allowed me to get a job outside of the school environment, I'd do it like a shot. The kids are becoming more and more aware of "their rights"; the government is making damn sure you can't do anything to discipline them (and no, I'm not talking corporal punishment here); and the parents won't help because little Jonny can do no wrong.

The reports of students taking weapons in to their schools aren't exaggerated, and (certainly in my area) a number of schools now have a police officer based on site permanently in order to protect both staff and pupils. Think long and hard about whether you really want to put yourself in this kind of environment. Then think about the teacher at my school who was hospitalised last year after a group of students quite literally trampled her as they stampeded down a corridor. Then think about the teaching assistant who had a nervous breakdown after repeated bullying by a group of year nine students. The guilty parties in both cases are still walking round the school as though they own the place. Neither staff member ever had so much as an apology.