Would you be a teacher? - NOT FOR ALL THE TEA IN CHINA

Lemondrop kid

As for the broken jaw thing - yes thankfully rare.
But i'd have to say that the gradual stress does accumulate - it doesn't just evaporate.
I'll say this finally - do not become a teacher unless you really feel its for you. I know the young won't buy that - (good hols good money (and yes it is good money)) but i've seen too many trapped in the profession, and suffer greatly for it - their own fault i know , but hard to witness.

Tipp Man

jenzz wrote: »

My point is simply I wouldnt do their job. & like Elmo said earlier many teachers do not have permenant contracts. I personally am sick of people bashing the teachers - they are not " THE " public sector. What many people appear to misunderstand is its the system they peed at. The system makes the decision not the teacher. The teachers werent the only ones on strike on Tue. Yes I do feel very sorry for a parent who needed to take a day off work to mind there child & lost a days leave but thats not the individual teachers fault - what about all the other public sector workers who were on strike? people are also missing the gripe at the moment - The fat cats sitting up there in Leinster house - They are the problem, They caused this mess, Not me , not you, not the teachers.

I do know a teaching principal. She took up the post in Oct 2008. She earns less now in Nov 2009 as a teaching principal ( teaches 4th, 5th & 6th & manages the school) than she did as a teacher due to the cuts. So why would you do it ? She obviously loves what she does . But its the extra stuff. The family whos house burnt down over christmas, The parent who died , the mother whos ill- Its the extra devoution & support they give to their kiddies out of hours. They are the ones who care & help. Can assure you you wouldnt see Mr Batt out shoveling snow off the school gate ways or painting the classroom walls himself.

Just to pick you (and Elmo) up on the contracts business, listening to some you would think that every teacher in the country isn't on a permanent contract.

There are about 20 thousand secondary teachers in Ireland on permanent contracts and about 3.5 thousand on a contract/temporary basis so 1 in 6 or 15%.

Now even though you are on a contract you still go up the salary scale even though you are not permanent (some criteria have to be meet) and it still counts towards your pension, you just don't have the "I can't be fired" back up
Source: http://www.statusireland.com/statistics/population-statistics-for-ireland/23/Number-of-Teachers-Teaching-in-Schools.html

I'm not having a go at you but the general attitude towards teachers in Ireland makes me sick, ah sur they have it so tough, they're great aren't they teachers, etc etc. You'd swear they were doing it for free or something, out of the goodness of their hearts, similar with nurses

ei.sdraob

as i said before

if they have it so bad then whey are they not emigrating to UK etc

since theres no emigration and they earn more than everywhere else while not being top

then that means they are overpaid

QED

murphaph

jenzz wrote: »

My point is simply I wouldnt do their job

You're claiming to be unemployed with a family to support and at the same time telling me you would refuse a 60 grand a year job?

Maybe we should be looking at cutting social welfare before the teachers' wages if this is the case!

Tipp Man

murphaph wrote: »

You're claiming to be unemployed with a family to support and at the same time telling me you would refuse a 60 grand a year job?

Maybe we should be looking at cutting social welfare before the teachers' wages if this is the case!

The problem is the vast majority in this country are paid too much for doing too little, teachers and social welfare being prime examples

irish_bob

Tipp Man wrote: »

Just to pick you (and Elmo) up on the contracts business, listening to some you would think that every teacher in the country isn't on a permanent contract.

There are about 20 thousand secondary teachers in Ireland on permanent contracts and about 3.5 thousand on a contract/temporary basis so 1 in 6 or 15%.

Now even though you are on a contract you still go up the salary scale even though you are not permanent (some criteria have to be meet) and it still counts towards your pension, you just don't have the "I can't be fired" back up
Source: http://www.statusireland.com/statistics/population-statistics-for-ireland/23/Number-of-Teachers-Teaching-in-Schools.html

I'm not having a go at you but the general attitude towards teachers in Ireland makes me sick, ah sur they have it so tough, they're great aren't they teachers, etc etc. You'd swear they were doing it for free or something, out of the goodness of their hearts, similar with nurses

+1 , we really need to stop being such sentimental chumps when it comes to nurses especially , most people would support theese most sacred of sacred cows were they averaging 100k per year instead of 50 k

Tim Robbins

Tim Robbins wrote:

I ref rugby matches every weekend. Also has 30 loopers, also get a lot of abuse from sidelines. I do it all for free for the love of the game.

I don't co-ordinate with parents or have to wait for them to pick up their kids. But the coaches do. And they also do it for free.

There's a major culture problem in this country. The public service is no exception.

Elmo wrote: »

It is their career not a hobby.

So what? No one is forcing them to be a teacher. If they really can't deal with it - get another career.

jenzz

murphaph wrote: »

You're claiming to be unemployed with a family to support and at the same time telling me you would refuse a 60 grand a year job?
Maybe we should be looking at cutting social welfare before the teachers' wages if this is the case!

How dare you bring my personal situation into it ! Get a grip at this stage will you ! I have been listening to you harp on & on & on & on ....

I never refused a 60k a year job - I have yet to find one to apply for . You try living on bloody social welfare before you make vast statements about people who through no choice of their own are on it but because of this godforsaken joke of a government have screwed up big time. Not the workers ! €204 goes no where & dont start about all the additional benefits because the " SYSTEM" is such a mess you go around in circles.
You know what I give up - Teachers hats off to you you do a sterling job! I appreciate everything you do or try to do to make my kids lives in school better.
Its absolute tossers like this who never turn up to a parents meeting, drop their kids late to school every day , never support anything in their schools, resort to bullying teachers simply because " I can" , collect them late, spend their lives bitching & moaning about the public sector yet contribute nothing to their kids education. They spend their whole private sector lives gripeing about how much the system owes me because I pay my taxes. Im sick & tired of listening to it now. We all pay some sort of TAX - get over it !

Teachers I support ye all the way & I wish other parents would just look at why ye are striking & not just the fact the are going to be inconvenienced by having to spend a day with their own kids.

Tipp Man

jenzz wrote: »

Teachers I support ye all the way & I wish other parents would just look at why ye are striking & not just the fact the are going to be inconvenienced by having to spend a day with their own kids.

So tell me why exactly are they striking?? do you think its cause they give a s##t about little Johnny??

dan_d

As the child of a primary school teacher, the one thing I always knew I was NEVER going to do was teaching.

Screw the hours and the holidays.Stuck all day everyday in a room with 30 other people's kids? Nope. Can't go the loo or have a proper lunch because someone else would have to mind said 30 kids along with their own while you did? Not a hope in hell. Having to listen to parents assure you that " he's very intelligent he just has a problem paying attention" (while knowing in your head that he's just a spoilt brat who needs a slap). Definitely not. And having to be polite to said parents because they'll probably sue you for not paying adequate attention to their child's needs otherwise.
Sorry but no.

And also as a teacher's child.....my mother could never come to my parent teacher meetings/class plays etc because she could never take the time off work because they can't take days during the year. Primary school teachers have to do a course in the summer (5 days) to earn 3 paid days off in the school year. Not a problem I suppose given their holidays, but when you're the only one who's parents can't come to things in school, because they can't leave a class of everyone else's kids, it gets a bit old.

Anyway, it doesn't matter a damn. Everybody thinks teaching is easy because we've all been to school. Everybody is delusional.You have absoutely no idea what it's like until you face a class of 30 6 year olds from the OTHER side of the desk, who are going to push you to your limits to try and get away with stuff. Not only do you have to control them, you also have to teach them. And my God the parents! Nobody should have to listen to some of the crap that comes out of parents. And nobody realises how much their personal issues as a couple screws their kid up until you see a class of small kids and hear their problems. The kids whose parents fight, whose parents are separating, who's parents work all the time and don't give them any time, who watch TV/play computer games constantly, who are never told no.......you can pick them all out by their behaviour. Not only are you a teacher, you're also a psychologist/nanny/babysitter and all-round carer.

So...what. That's nothing to do with anything.It's part of the job, but as far as I'm concerned, it's a vocation. Their wages are in line with every other wage in the country over the last 10 years.They do no more or no less than teachers in any other country.They would be paid less in any other country. What people are totally missing here is that ALL wages are all relative. We did well economically - everyone reaped the benefits (pay rises). Now we're in trouble - everyone has to take the cuts. It's like firemen telling you all about the terrible things they face in work everyday....the same stuff that firemen face in every country, and don't get paid as much for, because wages are not as high in other countries. It doesn't matter what you do all day. It doesn't entitle you to more or less of a cut. But your wages have to and will drop, because everyone else's wages are dropping, and these things are all relative to each other.Same applies to cost of living.High wages - high prices. Lower wages - lower prices. We have priced ousleves out of every market and now we've to try and get back in line with everywhere else to create jobs.

We just haven't copped on to that yet. And no. I wouldn't be a teacher. But then I doubt many people would be lining up to do my job either (that's for another day!!!)

murphaph

jenzz wrote: »

How dare you bring my personal situation into it ! Get a grip at this stage will you ! I have been listening to you harp on & on & on & on ....

Less of the indignation, pullllease. YOU brought your personal circumstances into it in your FIRST POST! You felt the need to tell us you were unemployed to stress the fact that you believe teaching is such a bad job that even an unemployed person would refuse to do it.

jenzz wrote: »

I never refused a 60k a year job

You said you wouldn't take a job as a teacher if offered one. That's the same as refusing one, unless you weren't being truthful in the first place! Average teacher salary is 60k, ergo you would refuse a 60k job.

jenzz wrote: »

I have yet to find one to apply for . You try living on bloody social welfare before you make vast statements about people who through no choice of their own are on it but because of this godforsaken joke of a government have screwed up big time. Not the workers ! €204 goes no where & dont start about all the additional benefits because the " SYSTEM" is such a mess you go around in circles.
You know what I give up - Teachers hats off to you you do a sterling job! I appreciate everything you do or try to do to make my kids lives in school better.
Its absolute tossers like this who never turn up to a parents meeting, drop their kids late to school every day , never support anything in their schools, resort to bullying teachers simply because " I can" , collect them late, spend their lives bitching & moaning about the public sector yet contribute nothing to their kids education. They spend their whole private sector lives gripeing about how much the system owes me because I pay my taxes. Im sick & tired of listening to it now. We all pay some sort of TAX - get over it !

Teachers I support ye all the way & I wish other parents would just look at why ye are striking & not just the fact the are going to be inconvenienced by having to spend a day with their own kids.

Yadda yadda yadda. Please don't come on here and tell me that you'd say no to a 60k job and then bemoan your social welfare payment. I find it totally disingenuous to be perfectly honest. I have mates who've lost their jobs-none of them would say no to ANY job, least of all a 60k job with more holidays than you can shake a stick at!

LordDorington

ei.sdraob wrote: »

dont cut our wages or "else" < insert from below > :

* your house would burn down
* your house can stay flooded
* your kids wont get educated
* your operation can wait
* your passport can wait
* crimes wont be investigated and judged
etc etc


thats what i call holding the country ransom

now if we could replace the people who are striking with people who are willing to work

that wont be holding the country ransom

true,,,but unfortunately thats illegal...damn those fat unions!:D