RANT: Teachers, why are you so whiny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amen. No other white collar professional whines like a teacher.

+1000

+10,000

+10,001

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I think it is funny that you as a parent think that I as a teacher even care about your opinion/s. At this point I am so fed up with the teacher bashing that I'm not doing anything unless it is my best interest. When we go back, and at some point we will, I'm not doing any more extras. No more "help" during my lunch, no more staying after school for free tutoring, no more answering emails outside of contract hours, no more treats bought with my own money, none of it. You've built your beds, parents, now lie in them.

Petulant.
Are you mad that we expect a certain level of engagement and expertise from you? Do you realize that you are illustrating the whiny teacher stereotype perfectly?

Now, you’ve added a punitive element to the mix. You sound like a petulant teenager. Ask them to do something, they do it poorly and half-assed, ask them to improve, cue pouting and bad attitude.

Extras? Parents can do those.
Need a tutor? Hire one.
Response to emails etc? Work hours only. The teacher's actual contracted work hours - not the hours, not whatever hours you think they should work.

A former colleague worked visibly 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. She offered help at lunch 2 days per week.

Outside of those hours she was unavailable to students and parents.

My banket, doctor, etc isn't available whenever I want. My hairdresser doesn't respond outside of salon hours. Why should a teacher work when oarents decide they should?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a former teacher, now lawyer, and everything OP said is spot on. And now teachers want to claim they aren’t “essential,” SMH.

How can people say they want to fire all teachers and take the tax money to pay for pods, yet claim teachers are essential? No one says let’s fire all the firefighters and use the tax money to buy fire extinguishers. Or let’s fire the meat inspectors and just use the tax money to pay for Imodium.

But the difference is that firefighters and meat packers showed up and did their jobs. Teachers have abdicated their roles and still whine and complain and how difficult they have it.

You can’t fight fires and pack meat from home online. You can teach online. Apples and oranges.

[Anonymous]

*doctor* and *parents*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a former teacher, now lawyer, and everything OP said is spot on. And now teachers want to claim they aren’t “essential,” SMH.

How can people say they want to fire all teachers and take the tax money to pay for pods, yet claim teachers are essential? No one says let’s fire all the firefighters and use the tax money to buy fire extinguishers. Or let’s fire the meat inspectors and just use the tax money to pay for Imodium.

But the difference is that firefighters and meat packers showed up and did their jobs. Teachers have abdicated their roles and still whine and complain and how difficult they have it.

You can’t fight fires and pack meat from home online. You can teach online. Apples and oranges.

No. You. Can't.

DL is totally ineffective for most students, especially young kids. Stop lying.

Also, if online learning requires full-time assistance by another adult in the room to make sure DC is actually learning, that's generally called home schooling, not DL. Let's recognize it for what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I think it is funny that you as a parent think that I as a teacher even care about your opinion/s. At this point I am so fed up with the teacher bashing that I'm not doing anything unless it is my best interest. When we go back, and at some point we will, I'm not doing any more extras. No more "help" during my lunch, no more staying after school for free tutoring, no more answering emails outside of contract hours, no more treats bought with my own money, none of it. You've built your beds, parents, now lie in them.

Petulant.
Are you mad that we expect a certain level of engagement and expertise from you? Do you realize that you are illustrating the whiny teacher stereotype perfectly?

Now, you’ve added a punitive element to the mix. You sound like a petulant teenager. Ask them to do something, they do it poorly and half-assed, ask them to improve, cue pouting and bad attitude.

Extras? Parents can do those.
Need a tutor? Hire one.
Response to emails etc? Work hours only. The teacher's actual contracted work hours - not the hours, not whatever hours you think they should work.

A former colleague worked visibly 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. She offered help at lunch 2 days per week.

Outside of those hours she was unavailable to students and parents.

My banket, doctor, etc isn't available whenever I want. My hairdresser doesn't respond outside of salon hours. Why should a teacher work when oarents decide they should?

Exactly, we are expecting teachers to work from 8-5pm. With the exception of buying extra crap for our kids (which I would be happy to do if asked to do), above teacher can teach and respond to emails during a normal 8 hour work day. Even staying "after-school" would fit into a normal 8 hour work day. School ends around 3:30 right? There are virtually full-time professional jobs that have a 100% protected hour for lunch everyday. Most professional jobs expect WAY more than 8 hours a day. Teachers have no understanding of what is expected of MOST full-time professional jobs, which is WHY, when you come back with your petty complaints, you get NO sympathy from 90% of the adult work-force.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with that long rant 100%. Teachers, you do not work harder than other professionals -- PLEASE STOP ACTING LIKE YOU DO. We all work long grueling hours and don't have summers and every other holiday off. Your pay is fair for what you do. What you do isn't rocket science. I'm sure it does require A LOT of patience, and I don't doubt for one second you work after hours. But again, so do all other professions. Please get off your high horse of how special you are and how you "deserve" so much more pay. Stop your whining.

I love a lot of teachers. I know many! But STOP playing your violin. You chose this career. I am so sick of alllll the teachers I know whining CONSTANTLY. Pre-COVID and post! I don't see any other professional constantly whining about how deserving they are of more and everything else you're always crying about. Ugh.

And yet after dormant for over 4 months you had to revive this thread.

Ha I didn't realize this was a zombie thread. But honestly it makes it more interesting considering our current climate. With all the uproar about defunding the police, I am glad that public school teachers are FINALLY being seen for what they really are- the weakest link in a very dysfunctional system. We can't keep hiring the least capable among us to teach our children and expect quality outcomes.

The statement I want to address is that everyone works grueling hours or overtime or whatever. This is simply not true. I know lawyers who do not work grueling hours, feds who work EXACTLY 40 hours a week, not a minute more, engineers who don’t work overtime, admin assistants who don’t work grueling hours, etc. Please stop with the notion that everyone works 70 hours a week. It’s not true and it’s not something to brag about anyway.

There is a massive gap between grueling hours and whatever you'd call the barely part time gig teachers have. Besides, it's not how long they work, it's the quality of work they perform. Be honest- think about your friends from HS that went into teaching- they were never the sharpest tools in the shed. It's the same now as adults- I have friends that are teachers, but honestly they aren't very motivated/disciplined/intelligent people.

We need to accept that, and then address how to correct the problem. We NEED to make education more competitive and lucrative. Maybe distance learning will allow more qualified people to teach a larger number of students, and therefore be compensated at a higher rate. I definitely believe it is time for vouchers. Idk. But there has to be a solution. Allowing the mediocre B- chick who went into teaching because "she loves kids and wants summers off" isn't working.

+1000. That's been my experience as well. Let's raise pay but then also make becoming a teacher far more competitive.

Katie B. Class of 1995, I’m looking at you. “Exactly” the person described above in bold. Her mom was a teacher and so she just set her sights on the same job, same town, same college, and now the same school system. True of a lot of teachers in my kids’ private school as well. Not an intellectual bone in her body. The only ambitious, smart teachers are the ones Who do it for two years through Americorp and then bail for law school. And those kids are NOT helping the system.

It is amazing to me that you know one person that fits this description and you can paint the entire profession this way. You sound like a complete idiot.
~not a teacher, but somebody who has respect for them

The point is that we ALL had a “Katie” in our high school class who fits this description....

And, again, you are saying that all teachers who haven’t left the field are like this one girl you knew.

[Anonymous]

They get paid for not doing their job, so of course they're happy to continue lockdown.

Cry me a river about loss of funding. Funding is money. If my husband could get funding without doing his job, he'd never work.

[Anonymous]

And don't tell me "i spent the summer preparing for distance learning" we're friends on Facebook. You haven't done anything but whine all summer while people with real jobs worked

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I think it is funny that you as a parent think that I as a teacher even care about your opinion/s. At this point I am so fed up with the teacher bashing that I'm not doing anything unless it is my best interest. When we go back, and at some point we will, I'm not doing any more extras. No more "help" during my lunch, no more staying after school for free tutoring, no more answering emails outside of contract hours, no more treats bought with my own money, none of it. You've built your beds, parents, now lie in them.

Petulant.
Are you mad that we expect a certain level of engagement and expertise from you? Do you realize that you are illustrating the whiny teacher stereotype perfectly?

Now, you’ve added a punitive element to the mix. You sound like a petulant teenager. Ask them to do something, they do it poorly and half-assed, ask them to improve, cue pouting and bad attitude.

Extras? Parents can do those.
Need a tutor? Hire one.
Response to emails etc? Work hours only. The teacher's actual contracted work hours - not the hours, not whatever hours you think they should work.

A former colleague worked visibly 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. She offered help at lunch 2 days per week.

Outside of those hours she was unavailable to students and parents.

My banket, doctor, etc isn't available whenever I want. My hairdresser doesn't respond outside of salon hours. Why should a teacher work when oarents decide they should?

+1 Minus the lunch help 2 days per week. I will work contract hours only. If it gets done, it gets done. If it doesn't, it doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I think it is funny that you as a parent think that I as a teacher even care about your opinion/s. At this point I am so fed up with the teacher bashing that I'm not doing anything unless it is my best interest. When we go back, and at some point we will, I'm not doing any more extras. No more "help" during my lunch, no more staying after school for free tutoring, no more answering emails outside of contract hours, no more treats bought with my own money, none of it. You've built your beds, parents, now lie in them.

Petulant.
Are you mad that we expect a certain level of engagement and expertise from you? Do you realize that you are illustrating the whiny teacher stereotype perfectly?

Now, you’ve added a punitive element to the mix. You sound like a petulant teenager. Ask them to do something, they do it poorly and half-assed, ask them to improve, cue pouting and bad attitude.

Extras? Parents can do those.
Need a tutor? Hire one.
Response to emails etc? Work hours only. The teacher's actual contracted work hours - not the hours, not whatever hours you think they should work.

A former colleague worked visibly 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. She offered help at lunch 2 days per week.

Outside of those hours she was unavailable to students and parents.

My banket, doctor, etc isn't available whenever I want. My hairdresser doesn't respond outside of salon hours. Why should a teacher work when oarents decide they should?

+1 Minus the lunch help 2 days per week. I will work contract hours only. If it gets done, it gets done. If it doesn't, it doesn't.

Yep. That's the disconnect. "Demanding" parents who work in white collar professions tend to care whether their work is done and put in extra time if they are behind or things are falling through the cracks. I do it all the time even though I'm not really hurting anyone if I'm behind and I don't get paid for work outside my core hours. Many of us do it because we care about the work and the people our work benefits, whether it is clients, customers, bosses, co-workers, or whatever. Many teachers don't care if the work doesn't get done, meaning that by extension, they don't care if the are giving their students what they need. That's why the profession has a public relations problem.

And you know what else? There is no parallel with bankers, doctors, hairdressers, etc. First, because most other professions don't work the limited number of hours that teachers do. Every bank has evening hours, as do most medical offices and and almost every salon. If the hours of any business don't work for my family, I find another business that is more convenient. Unfortunately, when a child spends a year with a teacher who phones it in and constantly misses school and won't put in one second beyond the contracted hours, there is no choice. The damage is done and the message is loud and clear. As long as teachers do the bare minimum as established in their contracts, it doesn't matter if they are effective or doing a good job.

Thank goodness not all teachers are like this, but a significant number are. It hurts the kids.

[Anonymous]

all these union teachers on here

get out of the profession it's obvious you are just there for the paycheck and could care less about kids

get the f out of here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I think it is funny that you as a parent think that I as a teacher even care about your opinion/s. At this point I am so fed up with the teacher bashing that I'm not doing anything unless it is my best interest. When we go back, and at some point we will, I'm not doing any more extras. No more "help" during my lunch, no more staying after school for free tutoring, no more answering emails outside of contract hours, no more treats bought with my own money, none of it. You've built your beds, parents, now lie in them.

Petulant.
Are you mad that we expect a certain level of engagement and expertise from you? Do you realize that you are illustrating the whiny teacher stereotype perfectly?

Now, you’ve added a punitive element to the mix. You sound like a petulant teenager. Ask them to do something, they do it poorly and half-assed, ask them to improve, cue pouting and bad attitude.

Extras? Parents can do those.
Need a tutor? Hire one.
Response to emails etc? Work hours only. The teacher's actual contracted work hours - not the hours, not whatever hours you think they should work.

A former colleague worked visibly 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. She offered help at lunch 2 days per week.

Outside of those hours she was unavailable to students and parents.

My banket, doctor, etc isn't available whenever I want. My hairdresser doesn't respond outside of salon hours. Why should a teacher work when oarents decide they should?

Exactly, we are expecting teachers to work from 8-5pm. With the exception of buying extra crap for our kids (which I would be happy to do if asked to do), above teacher can teach and respond to emails during a normal 8 hour work day. Even staying "after-school" would fit into a normal 8 hour work day. School ends around 3:30 right? There are virtually full-time professional jobs that have a 100% protected hour for lunch everyday. Most professional jobs expect WAY more than 8 hours a day. Teachers have no understanding of what is expected of MOST full-time professional jobs, which is WHY, when you come back with your petty complaints, you get NO sympathy from 90% of the adult work-force.

Did you see where I said "visibly"? As in, in the school and available unless she had a meeting. Those weren't the only hours she worked.

My SIL works in a bank. She whines because she has to work a pancake breakfast once/year on customer appreciation day. She sure as hell isn't doing anything work related after the bank closes. She misses time every day to drop off and pick up her kids.

I know quite a few professionals who leave work at work.

I think teachers need to take back their jobs. Don't let parents dictate what you do or how you do it. (IE: The thread about tests.)
Teachers ARE the professionals... stand up and do it. Leave the extras to others. Do your jobs the way you know how to do them, not how untrained parents think you should.

PTA's first priority should be filling in gaps in classroom supplies and necessities, nevermind cookies and coffee for the staff room. Stock a cupboard with food for kids who go without.

There is so much wrong with all of it. I wish education would go back to education. Not snack time, social work, and whatever else goes into it.

If they want to do extra then guess what? Those hours should be acknowledged, not scoffed at because other professionals do it too. A lot DON'T.

Yes, there are whiny teachers. Ds's Kindergarten teacher was one of the worst I have ever come across. However, they are not all whiny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I think it is funny that you as a parent think that I as a teacher even care about your opinion/s. At this point I am so fed up with the teacher bashing that I'm not doing anything unless it is my best interest. When we go back, and at some point we will, I'm not doing any more extras. No more "help" during my lunch, no more staying after school for free tutoring, no more answering emails outside of contract hours, no more treats bought with my own money, none of it. You've built your beds, parents, now lie in them.

Petulant.
Are you mad that we expect a certain level of engagement and expertise from you? Do you realize that you are illustrating the whiny teacher stereotype perfectly?

Now, you’ve added a punitive element to the mix. You sound like a petulant teenager. Ask them to do something, they do it poorly and half-assed, ask them to improve, cue pouting and bad attitude.

Extras? Parents can do those.
Need a tutor? Hire one.
Response to emails etc? Work hours only. The teacher's actual contracted work hours - not the hours, not whatever hours you think they should work.

A former colleague worked visibly 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. She offered help at lunch 2 days per week.

Outside of those hours she was unavailable to students and parents.

My banket, doctor, etc isn't available whenever I want. My hairdresser doesn't respond outside of salon hours. Why should a teacher work when oarents decide they should?

Exactly, we are expecting teachers to work from 8-5pm. With the exception of buying extra crap for our kids (which I would be happy to do if asked to do), above teacher can teach and respond to emails during a normal 8 hour work day. Even staying "after-school" would fit into a normal 8 hour work day. School ends around 3:30 right? There are virtually full-time professional jobs that have a 100% protected hour for lunch everyday. Most professional jobs expect WAY more than 8 hours a day. Teachers have no understanding of what is expected of MOST full-time professional jobs, which is WHY, when you come back with your petty complaints, you get NO sympathy from 90% of the adult work-force.

Did you see where I said "visibly"? As in, in the school and available unless she had a meeting. Those weren't the only hours she worked.

My SIL works in a bank. She whines because she has to work a pancake breakfast once/year on customer appreciation day. She sure as hell isn't doing anything work related after the bank closes. She misses time every day to drop off and pick up her kids.

I know quite a few professionals who leave work at work.

I think teachers need to take back their jobs. Don't let parents dictate what you do or how you do it. (IE: The thread about tests.)
Teachers ARE the professionals... stand up and do it. Leave the extras to others. Do your jobs the way you know how to do them, not how untrained parents think you should.

PTA's first priority should be filling in gaps in classroom supplies and necessities, nevermind cookies and coffee for the staff room. Stock a cupboard with food for kids who go without.

There is so much wrong with all of it. I wish education would go back to education. Not snack time, social work, and whatever else goes into it.

If they want to do extra then guess what? Those hours should be acknowledged, not scoffed at because other professionals do it too. A lot DON'T.

Yes, there are whiny teachers. Ds's Kindergarten teacher was one of the worst I have ever come across. However, they are not all whiny.

Then also act like a professional! Being a "professional" also means doing what's in the best interest of your clients/customers. This can mean putting their interest ahead of your own. Just narrowly focusing on "what's the safest/most convenient thing for me" without regard for your students is therefore not really professional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I think it is funny that you as a parent think that I as a teacher even care about your opinion/s. At this point I am so fed up with the teacher bashing that I'm not doing anything unless it is my best interest. When we go back, and at some point we will, I'm not doing any more extras. No more "help" during my lunch, no more staying after school for free tutoring, no more answering emails outside of contract hours, no more treats bought with my own money, none of it. You've built your beds, parents, now lie in them.

Petulant.
Are you mad that we expect a certain level of engagement and expertise from you? Do you realize that you are illustrating the whiny teacher stereotype perfectly?

Now, you’ve added a punitive element to the mix. You sound like a petulant teenager. Ask them to do something, they do it poorly and half-assed, ask them to improve, cue pouting and bad attitude.

Extras? Parents can do those.
Need a tutor? Hire one.
Response to emails etc? Work hours only. The teacher's actual contracted work hours - not the hours, not whatever hours you think they should work.

A former colleague worked visibly 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. She offered help at lunch 2 days per week.

Outside of those hours she was unavailable to students and parents.

My banket, doctor, etc isn't available whenever I want. My hairdresser doesn't respond outside of salon hours. Why should a teacher work when oarents decide they should?

Exactly, we are expecting teachers to work from 8-5pm. With the exception of buying extra crap for our kids (which I would be happy to do if asked to do), above teacher can teach and respond to emails during a normal 8 hour work day. Even staying "after-school" would fit into a normal 8 hour work day. School ends around 3:30 right? There are virtually full-time professional jobs that have a 100% protected hour for lunch everyday. Most professional jobs expect WAY more than 8 hours a day. Teachers have no understanding of what is expected of MOST full-time professional jobs, which is WHY, when you come back with your petty complaints, you get NO sympathy from 90% of the adult work-force.

Did you see where I said "visibly"? As in, in the school and available unless she had a meeting. Those weren't the only hours she worked.

My SIL works in a bank. She whines because she has to work a pancake breakfast once/year on customer appreciation day. She sure as hell isn't doing anything work related after the bank closes. She misses time every day to drop off and pick up her kids.

I know quite a few professionals who leave work at work.

I think teachers need to take back their jobs. Don't let parents dictate what you do or how you do it. (IE: The thread about tests.)
Teachers ARE the professionals... stand up and do it. Leave the extras to others. Do your jobs the way you know how to do them, not how untrained parents think you should.

PTA's first priority should be filling in gaps in classroom supplies and necessities, nevermind cookies and coffee for the staff room. Stock a cupboard with food for kids who go without.

There is so much wrong with all of it. I wish education would go back to education. Not snack time, social work, and whatever else goes into it.

If they want to do extra then guess what? Those hours should be acknowledged, not scoffed at because other professionals do it too. A lot DON'T.

Yes, there are whiny teachers. Ds's Kindergarten teacher was one of the worst I have ever come across. However, they are not all whiny.

Then also act like a professional! Being a "professional" also means doing what's in the best interest of your clients/customers. This can mean putting their interest ahead of your own. Just narrowly focusing on "what's the safest/most convenient thing for me" without regard for your students is therefore not really professional.

??? It is in my best interest as a patient if I get to see my doctor face-to-face. Guess what? That professional is only conducting face-to-face visits as an emergency. My newly diagnosed case of bronchitis? On Friday he saw me via some sort of zoom equivalent and used his phone to send in a few scripts.