I also thought the OP was genuinely pleased for the nice primary school teacher
and wasn't trying to have a go. I spent an unpaid year doing my teaching qualification, then left after less than a year's work. Don't know what the stats are like now, but back then in the late 90s they indicated that 40% of newly trained secondary teachers left the profession within three years and didn't come back. I would be surprised if things had improved.

The problem is that the managers of schools have a vested interest in blaming their staff for badly behaved pupils. It means they can continue to brush the problem under the carpet and pretend that their school is a brilliant successs. In bad or borderline schools, longserving 'ordinary' classroom teachers tend to survive because the managers are friendly with them, or frightened of taking them on because they are stroppy types. Newly-qualified, newly-appointed staff get the worst classes and only token support. In a way that's understandable; the turnover is so high that there probably seems little point in helping a newbie when there's a good chance they will jack it in fairly soon.

I was asked to stop sending disruptive kids out of the room, because they tended to wander off and break stuff. Of course that made keeping control nearly impossible, but it was still easier than arranging for a manager-teacher to patrol the corridors. I've also been sworn at and all the rest - the worst problems are the kids who randomly wander into your lesson to abuse you and cause havoc. Quite often you've never met them before and have no idea who they are. While you are busy trying to persuade them to go away, the class you are supposed to be teaching is kicking off. By the way, the penalty for walking into a classroom with the express purpose of disturbing a lesson that you were never supposed to be in is ... to write a two-line note saying you are sorry.

This is the bit that I think primary teachers of very young children sometimes don't get - their job is bloody draining with 30 little mites clamouring for attention, but within a few weeks they will be familiar with most of the kids in the school; they stay in one classroom all the time; they don't get barged or threatened in the corridors and, essentially, you CAN make a five year old comply with your instructions. You can't do that with a fifteen year old and there is always the risk that they could seriously hurt you if you push them too far.

For such a teacher to turn around to a secondary colleague and say "I'm sorry you seem to hate teaching / children so much, you should leave" is, just perhaps, a little bit presumptuous.
(slowly play it cool, Trig, Sun 18 Jul 2010, 1:23, 2 replies)

My mum
teaches year 1 and had one child so badly behaved that when he kicked off one day it took SIX adults to physically restrain him and stop him hurting any of the other children. Yes, six. He was six years old.
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Sun 18 Jul 2010, 9:39, closed)

Then you have 6 people who need to be trained so no one gets hurt.

(waxdart hello., Mon 19 Jul 2010, 16:04, closed)

They were trained
and using the proper techniques. That's the scary thing.
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Tue 20 Jul 2010, 14:33, closed)

But if you hate any job then you should get a new one.
I have no doubt that teaching teenagers is a sodding nightmare, and one I wouldn't do, primary teaching is a little more than just handing out a glue and glitter.

I have a great deal of respect for anyone who teaches secondary as I know I couldn't do it. However don't underestimate a ten year old who is kicking off, or a five year old for that matter.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 18 Jul 2010, 17:49, closed)