seeking work with the royal mail but CRB may go against me

[Indy]

well lets put it this way....

This isn't on topic so to speak but after reading that I get the feeling that theres a lot your not saying.... not that I'm in anyway implying that anything untoward has or did happened.

Anyway if you do get the job at RM I can tell you that RM managers treat OPG's in exactly the same way i.e. OPGs are ALWAYS wrong and the customer is ALWAYS right.... regardless! of whats happened!

[dvbuk55]

The day will come when there are no Teachers .............................



we're doomed

You mean they'll be working less hours and weeks than they do now

I think teachers deserve all thier holdiays now, must take them a while to recover from dealing with all those horrible kids!

Lets not get carried away with the hype, 36 year week, 6 hour day at best..........oh and I've heard all the hype about extra curricular activity.....when my kids were at school the afternoon finished at 3.30, now if you happened to be stood between the school gates at 3.31, 41 of the 42 teachers would have run over you, the 42nd being the guy to lock up.

[OnAFlyer]

The day will come when there are no Teachers .............................



we're doomed

You mean they'll be working less hours and weeks than they do now

I think teachers deserve all thier holdiays now, must take them a while to recover from dealing with all those horrible kids!

Lets not get carried away with the hype, 36 year week, 6 hour day at best..........oh and I've heard all the hype about extra curricular activity.....when my kids were at school the afternoon finished at 3.30, now if you happened to be stood between the school gates at 3.31, 41 of the 42 teachers would have run over you, the 42nd being the guy to lock up.

I take it you lot left school a long time ago then

My wife is a teacher and works 60+ hour weeks, 45-50 at work and 10-15 doing work at home. Like us, the good days have long gone and she's absolutely knackered by the end of the week.

[dvbuk55]

I take it you lot left school a long time ago then

My wife is a teacher and works 60+ hour weeks, 45-50 at work and 10-15 doing work at home. Like us, the good days have long gone and she's absolutely knackered by the end of the week.

In all seriousness, what exactly takes another 30 hours a week in addition to the 30 hours teaching? Preparing a lesson covered by the national curriculum perhaps? There are more subjects taught now, but are they all necessary? Rather like university degrees that cover subjects of no value whatsoever - it's a bit like - pick something you think you'd like, get a degree and then draw unemployment like everyone else because nobody wants to employ someone with a degree in coloured glass marbles.

It's time the education system got a good shake up.

[fishtank]

Rather like university degrees that cover subjects of no value whatsoever - it's a bit like - pick something you think you'd like, get a degree and then draw unemployment like everyone else because nobody wants to employ someone with a degree in coloured glass marbles.

That totally depends which university you attend...



(1) the Hon. Edward Sebastian Grigg, the heir to Baron Altrincham of Tormarton and current chairman of Credit Suisse (UK)

(2) David Cameron

(3) Ralph Perry Robinson, a former child actor, designer, furniture-maker

(4) Ewen Fergusson, son of the British ambassador to France, Sir Ewen Fergusson and now at City law firm Herbert Smith

(5) Matthew Benson, the heir to the Earldom of Wemyss and March

(6) Sebastian James, the son of Lord Northbourne, a major landowner in Kent

(7) Jonathan Ford, the-then president of the club, a banker with Morgan Grenfell

(8) Boris Johnson, the-then president of the Oxford Union, now Lord Mayor of London

9) Harry Eastwood, the investment fund consultant

[dvbuk55]

Rather like university degrees that cover subjects of no value whatsoever - it's a bit like - pick something you think you'd like, get a degree and then draw unemployment like everyone else because nobody wants to employ someone with a degree in coloured glass marbles.

That totally depends which university you attend...



Well I'm not always right, someone must have jobs for connected students with degrees in marble mouthing. I presume the state didn't pay for those knobs, mummy and daddy did.

Our education on the other hand required diligence.

[OnAFlyer]

I take it you lot left school a long time ago then

My wife is a teacher and works 60+ hour weeks, 45-50 at work and 10-15 doing work at home. Like us, the good days have long gone and she's absolutely knackered by the end of the week.

In all seriousness, what exactly takes another 30 hours a week in addition to the 30 hours teaching? Preparing a lesson covered by the national curriculum perhaps? There are more subjects taught now, but are they all necessary? Rather like university degrees that cover subjects of no value whatsoever - it's a bit like - pick something you think you'd like, get a degree and then draw unemployment like everyone else because nobody wants to employ someone with a degree in coloured glass marbles.

It's time the education system got a good shake up.

My wife teaches junior school kids, and the job isn't just teaching! There's a huge amount of lesson preperation - planning, making stuff etc, then there are meetings after work 2-3 times a week that run until 4.30-5.30pm (she starts at 7.45). There's also liasing with social workers, local authorities and parents regarding problem children, at risk children and families etc etc.

Then there's budget planning, working out orders for equipment etc, after school clubs, reports to write, paperwork for each child's progress - not to mention the reams of paperwork that have to be filled in before they are allowed to take the kids anywhere outside the school gates!

Teaching isn't just teaching anymore, they are having more and more work put onto them.

[dvbuk55]

Yes I've seen those explanations before - what on earth is she doing from 7.45 until the school opens?

How many times do you need to prepare the same lesson?

How many problem children are there?

As for the nightly meetings and chattering at that rate should could get a job with the CWU.

Bearing in mind I was being generous with the teaching, there's playtime, lunch, another playtime and all between 9 and 3 and you must have noticed that even after 6 weeks summer holiday - they manage to start the term with a teachers training day

[MrPPatt]

Thing is dvbuk55, have you got any close friends or family who are teachers? If not, why are you so keen to cast such authoritative views on something that you have so little experience about? I was a teacher for 5 years and my ex-wife is still one. The work-load can be huge, depending on the school, sometimes more than can be fitted into a normal day.

The "same" lesson needs to be prepared so many times because it will only be taught once a year and meanwhile the children have changed and the government and/or school will most-likely have changed the requirements and paperwork needed.

There are a lot more problem children nowadays due to funding cuts for Special Schools and bright-sparks deciding these children would be "better off" in a mainstream classroom.

As for discipline; if you are middle-aged then the classroom you went to will be a far cry from the classroom of today. I got out because I couldn't take the stress. Maintaining order in the class can no longer be achieved through threat of violence. Some of the children know you have very little power, their parents don't give a flying-one and will just try to blame you for their brats wrongdoings and some Heads are scared to expel mini-thugs because it will look bad for the school.

Leaving you in a little piece of Hell.

Don't say its an easy life if you haven't experienced it yourself, because I think you would be surprised how much more stressful than RM it is.

Patt :]

[dvbuk55]

Yes I do, at all levels and I have yet to have the questions addressed.

There are now "teachers assistants" - so what exactly is their role in the scheme of things, presumably to lighten the load. Education is extremely important but I believe there are too many subjects taught at all levels and that there is in fact savings to be made. The working cycle for a teacher is what - five weeks at a time followed by a week or fortnight half term, teacher training days and a very good salary.

Discipline is a very thorny subject but the ultimate penalty for bad behaviour is exclusion.

[fishtank]

I wouldn't want to be a teacher.
I don't think they work any more or less than most other occupations but i do think they work in a goldfish bowl environment which wouldn't suit me.
Having some snotty nosed brat and his chav parents judging me wouldn't sit well.

[dvbuk55]

I wouldn't want to be a teacher.
I don't think they work any more or less than most other occupations but i do think they work in a goldfish bowl environment which wouldn't suit me.
Having some snotty nosed brat and his chav parents judging me wouldn't sit well.

You see you are far too sensitive ft

[jonluc]

what i would say is that to INDY Im not hiding anything pal. you try life as a full time teacher and see what happens. believe me you are never right and if a student decided that for one reason or another they arent getting the attention or are getting peed off cos they cant understand things, or even that they are simply too lazy to do the work and you DARE to try to tell them off, then they can make life hell... they blame you for everything, then before you know it you are called in and are suddenly faced with disciplinary action. when you try to get the union involved like i did, the union wouldnt help as they said the allegations were made before i'd become a full member.
INDY do you really think i would do anything stupid as you are seemingly implying, when my wife is about to give birth to our first baby in the next week or so? if so youve got a sick mind mate and do you think I would seriously give up a £27K a year job to now be working for a £600 per month job?

in one way im glad to be out of that place but will be gutted if I cant be allowed to teach again for things that werent my fault (ive worked in performing arts since 1987 and have worked my backside off to get all the qualifications you need.

As for hours worked, yep we are blessed with more hols than others but in the time ive spent as a teacher most of those breaks are spent writing reports of all students (3 times a year writing reports for over 150 students each time), marking assessments, doing the classy CPD training which is compulsory, writing up new assessments, recording and filing grades, creating registers online and paper registers, recording details of any students with dyslexia, diabetes, etc and reporting how you've managed to include them into your classes so they dont feel isolated... it goes on and on
The reason for early starts is simply that you need to not only teach but also make lesson plans which sketch out everything you plan to do in each lesson (including time started, how long you spend on each task, etc) which then has to relate to something called a scheme of work which is a plan you have to have of everything you plan to do throughout the year!

You then finish late because of meetings, compulsory training, open evenings, parents evenings, enrichment classes, etc, etc...yet somehow we seem to love it!!!!

[dvbuk55]

Parents evening? My sons school had 1 parents evening per year - so that leaves 364. You could also say that the whole of the day is NOT teaching and so some of the work is during the 6 hour day. Teaching is a thankless task but lets not be gilding the lily shall we.

[Thorby Bislam]

Not only do you have to sign the official secrets act when you start but you have to sign it when you leave too. I recently left RM and was surprised to find that one of the things I had to do was sign the ofa again.