https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2024/04/01/by-friday-im-so-tired-i-can-barely-see-straight-the-rise-of-long-distance-commuting-teachers/
FFS, a major newspaper running this story just because it's a teacher. Driving 80 minutes is something many people do, but they have to do it far more days a year than a teacher will have to.
Teachers, a great bunch of lads. Remember when they tried to jump the queue over vulnerable people to get Covid vaccinations?
Teachers have been whining about pay and conditions for years now. The irony that they do this at conferences when they have two weeks off whilst everyone else is at work is always lost on them. They can't seem to accept the fact that their profession does not carry the kudos and instill awe in people like it once did, which is a good thing as it means they can't beat kids with impunity any more.
Teachers know exactly what they are getting into when they start out on that career path. The wages are ok but not great (unless you're a principal of a large secondary school when >€100k is possible), salaries are better when you factor in that it's a part time job (max of 166 days in a teaching year for a secondary school teacher). Yes you will have to deal with pain in the ass kids (some of whom have learning difficulties or other issues), and it's not an easy job at secondary level. If that's not for you then do somethin else. It's not like these are secrets.
Teaching is a good career choice for some, not for others. If you are happy not to live in a city then teaching is a great option as you will well be able to afford to buy a house and have a reasonable lifestyle. In fact I've tried to get my oldest kid who is at university to consider teaching, but she recognises it's not for her. Others can make that same choice.
If you want to work and live in Dublin then like a lot of people on mid level salaries you will struggle. I am in favour of a Dublin weighting for essential workers like teachers, they've been doing it in London for over a century, but Unions in Ireland will never support such a pragmatic approach.
There are still huge amounts of students doing teacher training degrees and it's now become so much easier to become a teacher, but as someone who has / had 4 kids go through primary and second level education the standard of some teachers is certainly questionable, not that they will have to answer for poor performance. And that's another advantage of being a teacher, little to no accountability. As a parent I could give lots of examples of the unaccountability and protected status of teachers some of which wouldn't be believed, I think most parents could.
Because its more financially worthwhile to head off to UAE than Leitrim?
Had they never been in a classroom before or something?
Here's an idea...
The people who became incredibly rich by virtue of owning a house in the right area, and who do nothing for society ...
... pay more tax to pay for essential services like teachers.
If they can't afford it, they can "downsize", and the Irish Times can write a wonderful article about it.
😆😆😆
It's a salary thing IMO and not the actual job itself. Lots of people would get on well at it, it's just not a 'sexy' high earning career like working for a Multi National, STEMs etc etc.
Who said it's a 'soft job'? I never for once said it was. It definitely has it's difficult parts.
But you know what? so do most jobs.
Thats the problem though, there arent plenty of talented people coming through. Highly competent people who do decide to train as teachers are leaving the job because they are also competent at recognising their worth. Teaching is a completely different job from what it was in the 1990s; a lot of reforms that have been introduced were necessary but a lot werent (see Croke Park hours etc). Smartphones and parents who cannot say no to their kids have also had serious effects on attention spans and discipline respectively. It has been said before but the current generation of teachers will be the 1st in our history not to recommend the job to their children. And it is the future generations of children that will suffer because the profession no longer attracts its fair share of the country's best and brightest.
It's the same problem that 90% of other public sector roles have: salaries that are set at a national level make little sense for roles in areas which have vastly different costs of living.
A teacher living and working in Roscommon will be very comfortable. Her counterpart in Dublin will not.
You think there would be a glut of teachers, with it being common knowledge of starting at 9, finishing at 3, summer holidays, Christmas, Easter, mid-terms, guaranteed contracts, PS pension. Sure it's a handy number.
Funny how that's not the case at all.
Im sure it's been said already if teaching is such a soft job why are there shortages, all over the country?
That one made me laugh this morning. The level of entitlement! I actually had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't a Waterford Whisperers article.
Yep, the union reps have been spinning that line - that teachers should be able to go off to Timbuktu, earn loads dosh and then come back and slot in as if they never left. Norma Foley was asked about it the other day and deflected by talking of push/pull factors.
Of course Irish teachers should be welcome home but on the same basis as anyone who emigrates for a few years or more.
wtf did he do with his tax free UAE money that you can't even spend over in that kip? i thought people go there to pocket a load of money so that they can buy somewhere when they come home.
Airports that way...
Good one today. Teacher moves to UAE as "he was made an offer that was too good to turn down" and "the school which offered him a job agreed to pay for his flights and find him accommodation". Now, 4 years later he's back, aged 42, and wants incremental credit for years spent in the UAE. House prices have increased in the meantime and he's "devastated". Claims he can't get a mortgage at all now but implies that if he had 4 extra years' of increments, he could.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/im-devastated-my-wife-and-i-are-wondering-why-we-came-back-teachers-four-years-work-in-dubai-not-reflected-in-pay/a1514775658.html
Driving 80 minutes is something many people do, but they have to do it far more days a year than a teacher will have to
The fact that we accept this as 'the norm' is a bigger issue but punching down is easier.
The cost of accommodation + the fact that some people can work remotely have been two huge changes in the past 5 years.
Rethinking my previous response, why do teachers need to work/commute to Dublin at all ?
There will be a lot of demand with more people who have kids working remotely and also a huge influx of immigrants and their kids who can't afford to live in Dublin either.
That's the name of the game. If folks don't like it then don't become teachers or look for another job.
In a past life I managed a team of 30 adults in a multi national. I dealt with poor language skills, mental health issues, a huge mix of cultural backgrounds, even cases of violent behaviour. I didn't get the summers off though. I also realised I didn't enjoy it anymore and changed career…
If you're not suited for that situation, then seek another job.
Plenty of talented people will be able to deal with the situation you quote and keep control of the class.
I'm sure the course teaches you how to teach.
Does it teach you how to handle 35 teenagers in an overcrowded classroom, when some of them have poor language skills, some have mental health issues, a mix of cultural backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds, some with violent behaviour etc etc.?
Primary school teachers get 14 weeks off a year and secondary get 18 weeks off a year.
The woman in the article is living in a teacher bubble.
Teachers only seem concerned about Gaza.
I remember the story about nurses in the Rotunda. Some found it easier to commute from spain rather than try and find accommodation in Ireland. It's a problem that all sectors are facing. And it's something that the IT regularly highlight with articles about different professions.
I read the article aswell and thought it was pathetic. Do teachers think they are the only ones who commute to work?
She's home by 5pm so actually shes quite lucky. Most other people who commute are not even left their workplace by then.
It just seems teachers are never happy with any aspect of their job. They need to work a real world job and then they may realise how lucky they are with the terms and conditions they have
If you've spent years in teaching college learning how to teach Irish to a class of teenagers then you should be prepared for it. You'll have done teaching practice throughout your course too.
It's not quite the same as someone going in blind.
It amazes me the amount of teachers children that decide to take up teaching considering its so so hard!
All those 183 days a year of sheer torture!
RTE has always been a mouthpiece for public sector unions, Beit teachers, guards or nurses etc
I bet stocking boys would have more drive for the job than teachers. And at least many of them have just passed their leaving cert so the standard would be much higher.
I'd like to see the opposite.
Leave your job stocking shelves and be put into a room with 35 teenagers and try to teach them Irish.
Very hard job, long commute and babysitting spoilt, entitled kids, for people who are working from home and on way larger salaries.
The housing crisis really makes it clear what is a poor salary these days. It's shocking. Terribly bad play by the government.
People who think it's ok, definitely are not recommending that their kids go into teaching.
This is how a fair society dies.
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