29 years, same job...I need to get out NOW :(

[yahoo2u2]

Not sure where this should or could be posted, but here it goes


Well I am totally fed up with my job after starting in January my 29th year. I have worked in education and training 16+ within the FE sector all this time. Even involved with 14-16 for many years as well.



I have been management and practitioner all this time and never not been in class.

I am just totally fed up with



Continually being judged and then graded? With action plans all the time.



More and more paper work, that you are expected to do at home or you would never be home Sad

Teenagers who think you are an old fart and should be in a box.

Managers who cant do your job, but continually tell you how to do it?

A kid is late to class, its my fault and I get a red mark for it, not them!

A kid cant be arsed and wants to play on his phone, its my fault!

A kid goes to bed at 7:10, then up again at 8:00 and then falls asleep at 11:00 again its my fault.

We are not now to be inspirational, inventive and creative, but to be more like robots and all do 1,2,3,4 with no variations or you are judged as not good.

This week the network again failed and took 10 minutes for the system to load correctly and again I was judged and it was my fault. (I have no control over this at all)

This week a group of teenagers (about 5 males), I dont know, decided to walk through an open plan area to a fire escape to get out and I stopped them and again this was judged as my fault.



I phoned a parent to say XXXXXX is being a real pain and falling a sleep, vaping in class and the toilets and setting all the alarms off, so a 100+ people had to go outside in the rain, including a few people in wheel chairs.



Parent says "yeah, I know he is a real pain in the arse, I cant do **** all with him, can you sort him out"..... And this is one of many.



I am totally fed up.



But, I am just feeling that its not how it used to be. The government and Ofsted have taken all the responsibilities away from the individuals and placing it at the feet of others.



Anyway, just a little rant as I feel at the end of my tether now.

[calnorth]

I think you need to be pretty special to work + enjoy that environment. And I went through a couple of scruffy Tech colleges. I had the urge to teach in the RAF and got there unexpectedly as an RAF Ground Instructor (Flight Simulation). Thats not the flying bit but training young lads to be related technicians.

These were 18 to 25 year olds that were also unexpectedly very variable and the rank bit didn't work too well either. I began to detect
weakness in the management above me. All different to my earlier training, so after 18 months I got out. It appeared to self destruct within the space of about 12 years.

Nowadays its black box changing and as such the skills I knew and admired have gone...sh*t happens! Pity that!

[Raffles]

yahoo2u2 I hear you. 'Life' as we used to know it, has gone to 'hell in a hand cart'.

I've also had a week from hell, swore in front of a female store manager (unintentionally) but was totally pi**ed off, told a store security guard to **** *** after finding my car keys and wallet on me in a random search of staff, and tried to give me a lecture. My attitude to work has changed so much recently.

Why do we bother? Teaching is so important, and I really hope you can find it in you to carry on your valuable work. It's just that, in today's world, the priorities have changed... for the worse.

Really hope things improve for you... at least I can tell them to stuff it.

[Perpetua]

It's a general observation more than anything yahoo2u2 . . . . . but is anyone's workplace any better thesedays?

The days of being conscientious, aspiring to do a job to the best of your ability and be appreciated for it do not seem as important to me, as ticking boxes.

It does my head frankly, when bods in offices who have no real idea of a job - but are good at coming up with daft schemes are given the authority to dictate.

None of which helps you of course . . . . . but I can sympathise and commiserate. 

[jtc]

I think any job gets to you in the end but all them kids!
No way I couldn't cope.
Fair play to you yahoo2u2 for doing this much needed job for so long.
I'm sure with your skills you could find something else.
How about teaching adults with learning difficulties or is there no money in that.
Anyway chin up sir we love you and I'm sure you're more appreciated than you think

[yahoo2u2]

Thanks for the kind words, I was not posting for this at all. But the teaching adults comment is an interesting one. About 8 years ago the government of the day decided to pull all the funding from adult classes and no one said anything. I was gob smacked. I used to work 3 evenings a week until 10:00 and then a Saturday morning teaching adults from Level 1 basic skills to CAD for BAE Engineers. And this mix made the job better as I had a mix of kids and adults. Now its ALL kids and this may be a part of it.

The kids or teenagers now only have to learn maths and English to GCSE Level C or Functional Skills Level 2. A course or area of study they choose is not funded and is seen as not important. So the management are seeing this as a way of reducing staff in the voactional areas, but of course they dont want to pay, so are trying to force people out I think.

[jtc]

Yeah I thought you'd probably have thought about the adult route, and as usual government messed it up as they probably weren't feathering their own nests enough.
You have the experience so couldn't you move up the ladder somewhat and maybe then try and do things your way

[nanotm]

the last few years I worked the emphasis for most seemed to be on getting away with doing as little as possible, many times I was called a rare exception probably because the security folk were forever tossing me out at 10pm (so they could get some shut eye) and making reports to the head honcho about my constant late evenings, night time call ins and early starts it got so bad that after 3 months of having the same report every single day the big boss sent me on forced leave originally for 2 weeks but he changed his mind after about 18 hours....

I also spent a few months at the special to arms training centre as an instructor until I was deemed as not suitable for teaching (funny thing was the students loved me at the front of the class most of the other military instructors liked my results, it was the civi instructor who didn't like me) still no skin off my nose I went back to working which I enjoyed far more, and the guy that had me moved on hated every other bloke they put in the same spot even more than he hated me until he "quit" 3 years later ....

[yahoo2u2]

Mar 4, 2016 21:47:12 GMT jtc said:

Yeah I thought you'd probably have thought about the adult route, and as usual government messed it up as they probably weren't feathering their own nests enough.
You have the experience so couldn't you move up the ladder somewhat and maybe then try and do things your way

I have done that mate until the heart attack at 45 and was on the way for director position, but I decided that I would rather be alive than continue to try and work 18 hours days just to keep ontop.

I was generating an income of about 3.5M with a budget of over 3/4 million....and still teaching to 14 year olds as no one else wanted to teach them, these were the then know as NEETS and expelled from school, but by law had to have 4 hours of education a week. They were only kids with big troubles and within 6 months were doing great, I was not so...

[ㅤㅤㅤUg/Zuza]

yahoo2u2 just retire early buy a campervan go travel with money you saved be happy once again get out of the life cycle of working 9-5 till you drop

Am 35 now my goal is to do this when 50 enjoy what time i have on this planet.. amsure theres hundreds of places you want to see and do and being in education you could do many little jobs on the way

Z

[jtc]

Awww mate I feel for ya.
Unfortunately I was one of those neets so I know exactly what you're on about there.
I sincerely regret how I used to play up in school now though as I know I was a nightmare.
As hard as life is though we have to battle on and make the most out of what we have I reckon.
You could definitely be in a worse position so come on you've survived it this long, so you can certainly get through anything the job can throw at you.
With that I say goodnight and keep that chin up

[yahoo2u2]

Mar 4, 2016 22:30:26 GMT jtc said:

Awww mate I feel for ya.
Unfortunately I was one of those neets so I know exactly what you're on about there.
I sincerely regret how I used to play up in school now though as I know I was a nightmare.
As hard as life is though we have to battle on and make the most out of what we have I reckon.
You could definitely be in a worse position so come on you've survived it this long, so you can certainly get through anything the job can throw at you.
With that I say goodnight and keep that chin up 

So was I, I left school at 15 with a swimming certificate for a length and that was IT.  So part of me wants these kids to know that things can and will get better. If they put the effort it.

Hey ho, just one of those posts I suppose.

[yahoo2u2]

Mar 4, 2016 22:28:38 GMT ㅤㅤㅤUg/Zuza said:

yahoo2u2 just retire early buy a campervan go travel with money you saved be happy once again get out of the life cycle of working 9-5 till you drop

Am 35 now my goal is to do this when 50 enjoy what time i have on this planet.. amsure theres hundreds of places you want to see and do and being in education you could do many little jobs on the way

Z

LOL, its not that easy. Ties that bind mate, ties that bind.

[monty]

I take my hat off to you guys, don't know how you do it... even without the modern regime. Vast hours, told what to teach, how to teach. I remember a fiend of my son saying that he had been given a detention "My mum soon sorted that out though" I went on postgrad teacher training course but just way too much for me.

Digressing, I sometimes think the crime rate is falling because today's kids have it all on a plate and haven't the gumption to break the law.

[yahoo2u2]

LOL Monty, I suspect the crime rate is falling because people CBA reporting anymore. Police only respond to even number crimes on odd days and vise versa? They, the police are not available to visit as they are filling in the vital forms we need.