10 things I hate about my job
As some of my regular readers will know I’m a Primary School Principal so I thought I’d list 10 things that I hate about my job.
- Paperwork - there are only so many hours in a day, yet we are expected to trawl through a plethora of paper.
- Policies/Procedures/Practises - If I see another ‘We will endeavour to … ‘ sentence I’ll do my nut!
- Parents - life would be simpler without them! They can be so irrational and nasty. It’s a pity they don’t appreciate all that is done for their children rather than looking for the negatives to criticise.
- The school building - we can’t heat it, we can’t keep it cool, it’s damp, we don’t have office space and it’s not practical as a teaching environment.
- Teaching Principal - dual roles don’t work. One always has to suffer. I do bring more paperwork home so that the teaching doesn’t suffer but my personal time goes out the window. If I could turn the clock back I wouldn’t have become Principal. When I became Principal the only polices that needed to be done were the Code of Discipline and the Safety Statement. Boy …. was I suckered!
- A Board of Management set up that doesn’t work …. we are supposed to have a shared responsibility …. pity they don’t share it!
- Having to do the sacraments (Confession/Communion/Confirmation). Parents abdicate responsibilty yet expect us to take up he slack. This should not be part of our work.
- Having the ‘Religious Inspector/Advisor’ call annually to see if the Alive-O programme has been implemented! Religion is the one subject that we as teachers have to teach but don’t get paid for. The DES have no role in the inspection of religion.
- Other advisors e.g. ICT Advisors (appointed through the NCTE - National Cente for Technology in Education to local Education Centres), PCSP (Primary Curriculum Support Programme) advsiors, SDP (School Development Planning) advisors etc. who are bluffing their way through their respective jobs!
- Mary Hanafin and her likes - they have an agenda that is not conducive to the education system!
I have more but that’s for another day! 
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I see what you are saying. What do you like though? I think there are a real number of issues spinning out of our celtic tiger and the associated increased “productivity”. I think it translates into people not having the time in their lives to dedicate to playing their part in their kids education, which is very wrong. The government has it wrong, economic growth at the cost of all the good things we have in our lives. Many of you complaints are down to wrong-headed policy on the part of our leaders.
Paddy I hate to see people unhappy in their work. I wish I could offer some solution. If you were told tomorrow that you could not teach, what would you like to do?
Hi Paddy,
You migth have seen my name on Grannymar.I’ve been looking at other blogs and the like. Found yours.
My heart goes out to you and many of our colleagues. I retired last Easter (2007) after 37 years. The why eyc is not for here.
years back (around the age of 40 -45) I went through absolute H*** in my life and career.I wanted to proceed higher up the ladder but was also fed up with teaching. Conflict. I couldn’t thik of anything else I could do.
I looked around, went a little way up the ladder and peered at my friends and colleagues and realised that thingsw ere not going to get easier so I resigned and took a post as purely a class room teacher…no other responsibilities at all. I was not willing to place my loyalties anywhere other than with the children in my class and the school and wih my immediate colleagues (that’s why I didn’t get the Deputy’s job I went for).
That was a problem solved….the children benefitted and so did my colleagues and I. Istill had other problems, some are still there 22 years later, but as far as work went I was able to do what I was best at.
Of course, before long, the National Curriculum and all the trash that came with it appeared but I was able to cope with that until last Easter….when I retired I was missed..still am BTW..the children and their parents and my colleagues ask me to go back.
So that is me! How about you? I hear a cry from the heart. What stands out is the fact that you are a Teacher an Educator…that is what you are, who you are.
Keep that in mind and contact me “off list” if you wish…..
Best wishes
Didn’t say…I’m in the U.K.!
Thrift…there has been a trend with poele to believe that they have the ” right” to have the “benefits” of a “richer” society. On top (over here) the government have en couraged families to abdicate their responsibilities for their children’s upbringing…play schools, help with childcare, nurseries, children still go into formal education situations before they are five..and so on.
People complain about the “Nanny State” andyet they buy into the “Upperclass” idea that children can be borne and then handed over (to a nanny) so that all they have to do is kiss them good night!…okay, an exageration but I speak from the heart.
Paddy seems to have a Governance problem….Not having taught in a Faith School I don’t know what this is like except to say that I have contacts (advisory) with an Anglican School said to be “failing” and thus in “special measures” where the war between priest and parishioners has had devastating effects…no-one of course says this…..
The rub is that “Everyone is an expert on Education. They ahve all been through it and they were “taught properly” ” I could write a book!
Wow … lots of feedback. I’m not long in the door here.
For ‘homework’ I have:
* 6 policies to proof read and correct
* 3 others to continue and
* 1 to start.
It’s a nice evening here now so I’m going to cut the lawn and do some manual work to free the mind.
I’ll respond to your comments later.
Thanks for the feedback!
It’s 11.25 p.m. here and it has been an exhausting day. I’m ready to hit the leaba but I feel I must repond to the comments before I hit the land of nod!
When I started teaching at the ripe young age of 20 I had all the naivety and enthusiasm anyone could possibly possess starting their teaching career.
All was going well until I took on the role of Principal at the age of 27.
It is just not physically possible to teach and administer at the same time. All my waking hours are consumed by school … school and more school.
Only last week did I stay in school until 6.00 p.m. cutting the grass and tidying up. It’s a case of DIY or it remains undone. I have been patching holes on the roof, brushing the yard, painting classrooms, etc. …. you name it I’ve probably done it!
Our school accounts are in the black ‘cos we’re careful (not mean) with the spend.
I’m overwhelmed at times …. free education is a laugh …. someone is usually paying for it …. and it’s usually me with my time!
Grannymar asks what I’d do if I wasn’t teaching … I’d get a job doing manual labour …. the exhaustion I’d feel would surpass mental exhaustion any day!
I saw a derelict cottage in the Black Valley … if I had the money I’d buy a place like it to do up … a living area, a bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom …. that’s all I’d need. Be plenty for me and my dogs!
A more simple life is what I desire … free from irrational parents and free from mountains of paper. I have asked the parents in my school to get involved in policy development and/or help out around the school …. (I ask regularly) …. how many volunteers did I get? …. NONE! … yet they have no problem complaining if a decision/procedure/policy has been implemented without their input. Even when they get the policies to read … they don’t!
I’m waiting to win the lotto …. If I win I’ll be out of teaching in a flash!
It’s hard being a conscientious worker in a system that’s crumbling.
I could talk about 12 wasted years submitting/revising/drawing plans and filling in paperwork for a new school building that never materialised …. but won’t ….. I need to get some sleep!
Good night all ……
I’m kind of keen on a simpler existence as well. It seems to be common enough, I wonder if it will remain a pipe dream for us all or will there be a sizeable backlash against the culture of “Productivity” cruelly ruled by the lash of debt. We (and by that I mean my wife) are actively involved in our kids school, as are many other parents, but that could be because it is only open a few years. As people get things handed to them on a plate they tend to expect it, so once our kids move on, if newer parents have not been inducted into the philosophy of being involved, they might just expect it all to be done for them.
Familiarity can breed contempt …. in teachers, parents and others connected with schools or education generally coming to think of it.
The amount of stupidity I encounter on all sides is unbelieveable!
[...] Who decides on the text books your child uses or how the subject is taught? I am sure you think it is that distracted school Principal losing his ability to smile. Before you criticize, walk a mile in his shoes! [...]
Hi Paddy, I’m a regular reader but haven’t commented. All that’s said here is valid. I agree with your views on the abrogation of parental responsibility. It’s wrong to expect the education system to teach social values such as religion, sex education, cultural diversity yet our primary teachers are overloaded with this stuff to the point that children are struggling to read and write. They can’t even be honest on school reports and the language used to describe an intolerable student is softened so as to not offend. To top it off, the pay scales in Aust. are rubbish and attracting men to teaching has become a real problem. Focus on the rewards and if it’s any consolation, I hate my job too!
Hi Baino … I’ve seen your ‘face’ around too
I reckon i’m at an age where it the point of no return and realisation is beginning to set in.
What gets to me is the fact that children seem to be very far removed from the equation when it comes to making the important decisions relating to their education.
And we’re all to blame equally here … teachers/ parents/ Boards of Managements and the Dept of Education and Science itself.
We (globally) are becoming more technologically enabled, communication is effortless (here I am conversing with Australia) …. yet we as people seem to communicate less and less all the time.
I reckon I hate the state of my job rather than the job itself ….. I love interacting with the pupils in my class …. I love doing a certain amount of paperwork but my job as a teaching principal is becoming less defined every day and the workload keeps increasing.
I am hoping to retire early …. ‘fingers crossed’
Wow Paddy - I had no idea. My little girl is starting in September. Right now my concern is how I’m going to pay for all the extras like uniforms, books and the “voluntary” donation. We moved back to Ireland from the US three years ago, one of the primary reasons being the better education. I was taught in the US that WWII began in 1941 if that gives you any insight!
I had no idea how hard teachers had it and I will keep that firmly in mind as we endeavor on this new path!
Thanks for the comment Deborah
Your child is embarking on a new phase of her life … I hope it will be one of fun learning.
FREE education becomes a distant reality in the real world of Irish primary Education I’m afraid.
Some schools see parents as an ‘income source’ …. some don’t.
The ones that do … well they do so for their own reasons …. but a halt should be called nationally to so called voluntary contributions.
As long as it continues, the government will continue to underfund/undervalue schools and the education system as a whole.