Promise I'm not trolling but I have to agree with him
The reason teaching is stressful is apparently:
"the constant churn of government initiatives, tinkering with the curriculum, introducing new tests" - what job doesn't have constant tinkering and new initiatives from upper management? That's common whether you teach English in mossside or deliver furniture for DFS. Coping with the changes from above is just a fact of working life.
Stress is also apparently:
"pressure to get pupils through exams to prove their school is performing well" - So you're pressured by the people who employ you to prove that you're doing your job well?
I've worked in the public sector for the last 7 years and I'm sick of people talking like they have the monopoly on stress. Private sector work is just as stressful but often without the personal gratification or public admiration that often comes with public sector jobs.
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Sheriff John Bunnell https://twitter.com/thewonderfulgam, Thu 10 May 2012, 22:00,
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Well, I don't think they're claiming to have a monopoly on stress :-). But Doctors etc have similar complaints and I think they are justified. The stress comes from the government wanting to run Public services like Private companies, and hold to them to the same checks and balances. But they are not the same at all. The "product" in this case is Human beings, and you can't process them like components in a factory.
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JamTallons, Thu 10 May 2012, 22:14,
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I agree that the Govt. is wrong in attempting to run public services as private ones
But the woman from the teacher's union made a list of complaints that are almost universal to all jobs, and then claimed that this is why teaching was particularly stressful. That's claiming a monopoly on stress in my book.
Also, I'm sure there are people here who know teachers who've suffered stress, but I reckon you could say the same for a lot of jobs, I know I could. And although this is harsh, if you're so stressed by a job that you have a breakdown or cannot continue to do it, then you clearly aren't right for that job. Similarly, someone who is 5ft tall and weighs 6 stone probably isn't cut out to be a bouncer. I found myself working in a very stressful environment and in 2 years took 2 months of with stress, I accepted that I wasn't cut out for it and got a different job.
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Sheriff John Bunnell https://twitter.com/thewonderfulgam, Thu 10 May 2012, 22:25,
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just because other jobs are stressful for the same reasons
doesn't mean that teaching isn't stressful
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mictoboy shitting in your cunt since, Thu 10 May 2012, 22:37,
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Which is why I never said teaching wasn't stressful
Only that the stress they experience is common to loads of jobs, but somehow they're pleading that they're a special case.
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Sheriff John Bunnell https://twitter.com/thewonderfulgam, Thu 10 May 2012, 22:40,
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I think they are.
Like I say, it's the same with Doctors. Dealing with seriously injured people or resentful children is a raw and ancient Human challenge. And the stress it brings is more personal and soul consuming than a lot of other jobs. It's certainly different than the type of emotional challenges you'll encounter when delivering furniture for DFS anyway.
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JamTallons, Thu 10 May 2012, 22:57,
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Even if I thought they were a special case (which I don't)
the woman in that article certainly didn't put forward any claims that would support the argument. There was certainly no mention of the type of emotional challenges that teachers faced.
As every job is different, the details of what causes the stress are going to be different. But to claim your job is particulalry stressful because your bosses put pressure on you to perform well or give you new and different tasks, is just ridiculous.
Also, if you find emotional challenges stressful, don't become a teacher. Its really simple.
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Sheriff John Bunnell https://twitter.com/thewonderfulgam, Thu 10 May 2012, 23:13,
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I think that is a huge genralisation, and yes I respect you point of view.
My Dad was a teacher for 26 years and consistently had good results, he taught at some high profile schools, expensive ones, which you might think made his job easier. It didn't. He got so stressed out and fed up with the stipulations and prescribed curriculums put upon him by people that hadn't really done a teaching job (quangos) that he left the profession. I know he was a good teacher, so many of his students still get in touch with him from time to time to let him know what they are doing and to thank him. He took a job with the council supervising a traveller site, even though he was in constant liason with the police because of the crimes they had comitted he deemed it less stressful and frustrating. Because he wasn't allowed to TEACH anymore, only to impart the prescribed information. This is why so many good teachers don't do it anymore. I am looking at teaching abroad, somewhere things are a bit more about the students needs and less about what is required of them by a government set curriculum. It is after all a fundamentally needs led profession.
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skeltonator Needs some new daps., Thu 10 May 2012, 23:06,
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Genuine question- what bit was a huge generalisation?
also, its extremely commmon for people who spend a long time in one career to get worn down and dilillusioned with how the job has changed. It happens in every industry I've worked in (quite a few). That doesn't mean teaching has become more stressful, just that your Dad became disillusioned with his job. I'd also wager that your dad found his new job less stressful because it was a change and something new to challenge him.
EDIT: Shouldn't have started this debate when I'm this tired. Off to bed now, not ignoring you. Good luck in your job, its good to hear someone motivated about their career:)
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Sheriff John Bunnell https://twitter.com/thewonderfulgam, Thu 10 May 2012, 23:17,
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The generalisation was that you were saying "teachers" are pleading they are a special case Re: stress
Massive generalisation, assuming your statement didn't mean that "some" teachers are pleading a special case.
Edit: and yes you are 75% right about my dads dissillusionment. Although that in itself was very stressful for him, after 26 years, you are going be a bit stressed and depressed about leaving a job that you once loved.
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skeltonator Needs some new daps., Thu 10 May 2012, 23:21,
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Anything's stressful if you actually give a damn though isn't it?
I look after hundreds of millions of squids for my day job and make decisions that, if they're wrong, may well contribute to killing someone and most of the time its fucking scary (social / charitable sector).
So sometimes I might think I'd like to "have a rest" and be a teacher. But when I think about it, I'd far rather be responsible for a load of money and possibly fuck that up than hundreds of kids, and fuck them up.
It all seems to be a bit of a moot argument. Constant battle to see who's got a worse lot than anyone else. We're all ultimately fucked aren't we, so let's all just hold hands and sob quietly.
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Throat And Ice Pie I see dem tatties dere., Thu 10 May 2012, 22:37,
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"Constant battle to see who's got a worse lot than anyone else. We're all ultimately fucked aren't we, so let's all just hold hands and sob quietly."
You put it a lot more succinctly then me.
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Sheriff John Bunnell https://twitter.com/thewonderfulgam, Thu 10 May 2012, 22:43,
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I like you point, and I concur, it would be nice if people stopped whining about how teachers are getting it wrong though and maybe looked at why
this perception has occured, maybe even volunteering as a CA to see how "easy" it is and then when they get home they could do some marking and write a few reports, maybe do some lesson planning whilst thinking about what to do about the disclosure you had today. It's not a 9 to 5 as I am certainly sure your job isn't. There are alot of fucking hard jobs out there, being a soldier for one must be harder. Lets just not jump down the teachers throats straight away, kind of shooting the messenger IMO.
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skeltonator Needs some new daps., Thu 10 May 2012, 23:34,
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I don't think any teachers are claiming to have the monopoly on stress.
But you have to consider the parts of the job that are often overlooked when people think of teachers, especially headteachers. Teachers often find themselves acting as a bridge between the parent and child, whether they want to or not, especially in primary education when they also act as first legal point of call if anything goes wrong in the home. And it does.
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PMGT -Bacon., Thu 10 May 2012, 23:18,
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This is extremely true, one of the major factors of being a teacher is being able to act as a liason between child and parent when
disclosures are made or bullying occurs or if you have concerns about diet, bruises, etc. and also to be able to liase with the relevant authorities. Plus court statements etc. it comes down to a lot more than 2+2=2. Loco parentis is a serious thing.
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skeltonator Needs some new daps., Thu 10 May 2012, 23:40,
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