YP Letters: Bureaucracy and long hours ruin teaching

From: Jo Conway, Adaptaboard Limited, Harrogate.

IN reply to the article ‘Long hours and low pay add up to a teaching crisis’ by Jayne Dowle (The Yorkshire Post, October 13).

It was a fantastic article, well-researched and full of home truths, many of which the general public are unaware of. So much is expected of our teachers and the continual and ‘excessive accountability’ and ‘justification’ to satisfy the bureaucratic culture is sapping teachers’ energy.

Many teachers do not now have a healthy work/life balance. The pressure, stress and anxiety of meeting ever increasing learning targets feeds through to the children in their care.

The same can be said of many parents too. Many parents have given up with the ever-changing curriculum and they just leave it to the teachers.

Learning, especially in the early years, should be a partnership. Teachers must let parents jump on board and share knowledge and resources so that all parents feel empowered to help and support.

We must ask ourselves what causes the longer working hours for teachers. As Jayne states, if their hours were converted into hourly pay most would be surprised that so many are still teaching. What creates teacher pressure and work overload?