Patsy

i know every job has pressures, but i am interested to know from those who teach in canada how you feel about your jobs. Love it? Hate it? Do you get job satisfaction? Respect from students? or like many teachers i know here, are you under permanent stress, fear of inspections that ask far too much? fear of the kids failing ?(even tho at times there is little contribution on their side) (NOT all kids tho..) little support from parents,? (some actually do try but theyve also lost it with their preciois ones)tears on a sunday night?(teachers not the kids!)

Just wondered what the comparison is,

Atlantic Xpat

If I can speak on behalf of my wife who is a teacher......

No fear of inspections, leastways nothing to compare to an ofsted. Stress? Yes I believe so. Mostly around getting a permanent teaching position in the first place.....

Oink

Who'd of expected professional accountability in teaching?

Atlantic Xpat

Or, more accurately, who'd expect professional accountability in an unionised professions such as teaching?

Patsy

Fear of personal disappointment and blame when kids fail due to not doing any work wotsoever.........having spent hours planning to make it fun!!...

Those who teach know wot i mean

Oink

To sort of answer the original question, while there are some truly crap teachers here, they seem to identify with the children and believe its their job to help the students learn, rather than blame their professional inadequacies on the pupils, their parents or OSTED. Although if they have biscuits in the staffroom, they're crap, so bring your own.

dbd33

I have a friend who teaches in Rexdale. She says she's often in fear for her life.

R I C H

Kind of like fear of reprisal and/or loss of job for failure to meet targets, sales expectations, metrics in a job description etc etc, after putting in hours of work?

Why should teaching be viewed any differently from any other profession in terms of accountability?

Patsy

As i say, those who teach know what i mean

R I C H

Educate those of us that don't.

Aviator

Wot, Wotsoever, Tho, this is what is taught in schools in Britain today?

Accountability is how standards are maintained. Myself and many of my former colleagues had to do regular checks and training, lots of questions were asked, if we failed we were unemployed. Every profession should be accountable, not least to their employer.

Oink

It isn't. There are certain performance standards, outcomes and conduct for which teachers are accountable. They just seem to moan a lot about it in the UK. Teachers moan here, but its usually around pay, extra-curricular work, or prep-time. In fact, the world over, teachers are a moany lot.

Patsy

I didn't suggest teaching was viewed differently to working in any other job...my last job was a buyer for a large fashion retailer, so i know what youre talking about re sales expectations, targets etc (which infact was a doddle compared to teaching) ..I simply wanted to know if teaching in canada differed at all to teaching in UK...... that's all

Aviator

Who get 10+ weeks off a year.

iaink

Can I suggest you all stop having a go and stick to answering the question if you can. If you cant, then I fail to see what the point of deriding teachers is, other than to make you look bad.

Personally I wouldnt be a teacher for all the tea in china, but I fail to see how excessive government assessment in the classroom, and dictating how a professional should go about their job is supposed to help. As a non teacher I would say the main difference here is the absense of a national curriculum and standardised testing, and the league tables that result from that. Teachers of course are still assessed within the school board, and provincial testing occurs, but I imagine its less rigourous, less frequent and less pressured. If that frees up teachers to be enthusiastic and creative then thats a good thing, but on the other hand it means some less good teachers get to slip by too...