Ep 26: Why Do Some Teachers Struggle With The Summer Holidays?

0:00 Hello and welcome back to another episode I've teached Deep Repeat. My name is Dylan. And my name is Hayden, and I'm saying this for the second time because Hayden forgot to do his audio properly. So Hayden, thanks for wasting 20 minutes of our time. Let's just double me in straight away. No, you don't get away with this, so don't get away at all. So, Hayden, I What's gonna happen in this podcast? Are you OK? Yeah, I'm fine. Are we are we gonna pretend that we didn't just record this for 15 minutes? Or are we gonna Ohh we could we could pretend to catch up each other's weeks and be really interested in ohh. Interesting. Pretty interesting. Well, maybe we could recap on, you know, a couple of weeks ago you led the podcast. You know, you might have it witty to say about that.

0:42 Yeah. Yeah, OK, Well, I did leave the podcast and there's a lot of new fans here right now, I'm sure. For me. So I think my family, my family messaged me about, yeah, they enjoyed. Because I mentioned that the first time I recorded this, so I'm gonna mention right now, thanks to Dylan's family, because you picked me up and made made him feel rubbish. He now sits on the better host. So that's good. No, no, don't worry about that, Worry about that happening. My favourite bit was my mum, who, you know, typical mum is just, you know, says nice things to people, make them feel good about themselves, but often just not true. Like she was saying how good your beard looked and I was like, mom, you don't need to. He's not in this group chat. He's not going to see this. I sent it to him, you know, don't pretend. How I missed the beard. Shall I talk 5 minutes like I did last time about how I missed my beard? Yeah, yeah, it's good though.

1:26 But listeners who are listening in right now, you're gonna get like the condensed version of our Wiffle waffle because, you know, Hayden, Hayden says. If you gonna use this just not very funny all the time. Yeah, we're waffle. Waffle. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. But yeah, Hayden, do please tell me. I'm really interested to hear for the first time about your beard. And your choices. I'm not doing it. I'm breaking script. I'm breaking the script. So I didn't mention last time. I like your purple light. Ohh, thank you. I did. I changed it around a bit. I thought that, you know, the grotesque green curtain which is just always in this corner. I thought, why don't I just slightly move my camera and then it won't be in there anymore. Joe is really small jobs that you just, you know, we'll take two minutes and massively improve your life. But you never, ever do it. This is one of them. I was like weeks ago. I was gonna tell my desk. It's not like you I have now.

2:08 Not like you to to leave little jobs that are meaningless to take 5 seconds forever and not just do them. Listen, I preferred it when I knew what was coming up because we wasted 20 minutes of our time already doing this intro. It didn't work. What? Just wondering. Hayden, why don't you got fancy lights and stuff You tried to copy my office that I've got? Why don't you change your light to purple? Yeah, well, I can't because my one only goes from white to orange. I'm Hayden and I've got a traditional light. Listen, you want to jam out to purple sometime? Who knows? Later in this episode, I might change it to green, because I can. I think you should, but you'll forget because it's a small little job and you won't do it. So listen, listen, Hayden, I I don't have small little jobs around my desk. Like, you know, 3 glasses that I just haven't taken. Down.

2:52 I know I was literally gonna say you're asking to do the cup thing, but I wonder about it so much. I was like, no, I won't bully him today about this cups. And you have. He doesn't. Dylan doesn't take his cups down. I'm gonna. I'm just going off on one now. You'd be quiet. Dylan is the worst person ever for like, just just leaving tiny things. Like if he has a play upstairs, he's eating his lunch upstairs. That plate will sit there for three weeks. I guarantee you, and I'd even say sometimes Dylan, you could take your he's going downstairs and say you could take your plate down. He's like, Nah. It's like, what are you not even had to not remember to do it? You just decided not to Listen, listen, listen. This is the problem I have. OK, I'm going to dive into my site here. First of all, I just don't do it. That's the first problem.

3:39 OK. The second problem is when someone tells me to do it, I immediately like no, I'm not do what you say, I'll do what I want to do. It in the cycle just continues. I'm just going to say I'm going to expose you a bit more. His girlfriend came in, I don't know, like a month ago and we're on camera and all she was doing was tidying up his mess. She was just fed up of seeing like Chris Packet on the side or whatever and picked it up until I was like, no. He got annoyed. You got annoyed because she was literally cleaning up for you and you got annoyed for some reason. I don't even know what's going through your head. Does anyone else have this where they hate? It's from childhood. I hate my stuff being touched or you know you just my my brain goes into like that's my thing.

4:24 That's the I don't do that. I was that kid who, if you like, put one toe over the line towards my door in my bedroom. Like, get out now, my room now. Did but did your sisters wind you up and stuff like, is that why? Did they Did they do it on purpose just to wind you up, or would you just strange about it? Um, I don't know. That's why I ask them. Hayden, you're all that new biggest fan mate. Why don't you just message them? Fine. I I'm. There's a big family. Ohh Hayden's just quite funny actually. Ohh. Hayden's beard looks nice. Ohh I'm fed up of it. So I'm back this week leading. Look what happens. One week in forgets his headphones. You have to do 20 minutes. We've had this conversation already. Honestly, I'm still laughing at that. You got something already. So every episode, if you haven't noticed already, every single episode Dylan will say a phrase or like an idiom or just something, and he'll say it wrong.

5:13 And it always makes me laugh. I'll be editing the podcast episode and I'll just listen to Dylan say something the wrong way around. Like then he just said I'm their biggest fan and what he meant to say was they're my biggest fan. It's just funny. Hate it. People in stone houses shouldn't throw glass. All right, so just wind your neck in. For like, until you said the last word, I didn't even notice you doing it wrong, right? Listen, listen, they said how good your beard was. Let me just read my script here from last time. So we mentioned about my family, Here we go. My family mentioned how good your beard was. Then I made a joke about why is it not here anymore? And that was meant to be the link into something you did this week.

5:58 So should we do that again? Yeah, ohh, natural link. I went to a wedding. But you went to the wedding as well. But I was there longer because I'm more special than you. And I was the I was the best man again. I know it's like deja vu, isn't it? Because must have been sad, deja vu. Yeah, because you have been best man twice and you've made this joke twice as well, so it's really odd. It was only a few episodes ago that I was best man. People probably thinking, who is this guy? Why is he so friendly with everybody I know? And the worst thing is you have to let them down when you have a wedding and I'm your best man. That's horrible. But you won't be. You won't be. Because I'll be the best. Because you're your own best man. Yeah, I remember. Yeah. Trick. I'm going for the hat-trick, so just, you know, the table giving your speech as the groom.

6:43 Yeah. And now let's please welcome the best man that you just stand up again. Just put your jacket on. Exactly. I'll introduce myself and I'll talk. He's a great guy. He's a great guy. Trust your bed. Can't. Yeah, just rinse myself. You write it for me, but I'll read it. Ohh dear. But yeah the wedding was good. A bit annoying though because they're we what? I say a bit annoying as if it was an amazing wedding. There was nothing annoying about it other than me getting bitten by a bunch of mosquitoes. Ohh, my goodness, was it you or was someone else that pointed out the one on my head like that? Yeah, because it looked like, Do you know that grainy footage of when man landed on the moon Looks like their legs come out. Of the hands on the moon it was it looked like that on your head. Like there's look like it's just landed next to this crater on your head just there.

7:28 And it just so like season just landed and just started sucking the blood out your head like. And the best bit was you're in like a full three piece suit. We went out for lunch the other day and you had shorts on and your legs were riddled, riddled with bites. Like what? Happened alive and I don't even, I don't even know I had a suit trousers on. Ohh. We were outside for a long time to be fair, like we stayed out. We're kind of like, I think I do know where you got that from, by the way. And I'm gonna maybe upload this picture to Instagram. Ohh yeah. Do you remember the part? Maybe you could explain to the listeners about the part where you helped out with some photos. Oh God, yeah, I forgot about that. I wonder if it was from that, you know, So the bride and groom had. I knew you were gonna rinse me about this as well. Riding groom were having photos out and it was a beautiful venue and it was like a field behind it. That's a really cool little photoshoot opportunity. And he took them out into this more like field. He bit quite long grass.

8:25 And uh, he needed someone to spray this. Like, it's like canned smoke. I imagine it's used for like props and shows and stuff as well. And he just asked me if I'd go behind them. So I'm not actually in the shop, but you know, just behind them and just spray it in the air to get like a Smokey effect in the background I guess. And as I was there on my hands and knees just spraying, I was actually like contorting my body so that I couldn't see the camera lens because I didn't want to be in it. Obviously ruin that picture, just my arm out like this, like. And yes, I was just in the grass for a solid 2 minutes and I think they just got in my trouser legs and they just bit me to death. But the the best bit about this was obviously from from your perspective of the cameraman, you were you were like not in shot remotely but you were at a proper 90 degree angle to the rest of the wedding party. So all you could see was like photographer, bridegroom, But then you like this like better get closer pictures and I'm gonna upload one.

9:20 I'm gonna upload it's. Good. Nice. Well, I look forward to that. You also gonna upload the photo of you know, I'm gonna say because I said it last time, yeah there's no photo. And by the way last time wasn't expected it. Guys, very soon in this podcast we will get past the point where we got to we realised, hey, the rest of the audio and we will stop doing these callbacks. But for now, yes, I do know what you bring up again without once telling me so. Well you can you can condense the story this time. So Dylan being a big hairy man had to had to alter his alter his body for this wedding because he was sweating too much under his boobs. So Dylan, how did you under his his his man boobs, how did you? This situation, thanks for clarifying that they're man boobs.

10:04 That's much, much nicer. You called them last time, so I thought I could listen. Listen, we always joke between Hayden and I that we have enough hair for two grown men. Just. I have 98% of that hair on one body. OK, it's so true. But the point the point being, we've all done this. Men. We've all done this, OK, Especially men who are hairy and men who sweat quite a bit. But you get ready for like, a wedding. You get the really smart clothes on. And it's the it's the middle of bloody summer. Like, why are we wearing all this stuff in the middle of summer? Just tradition. Let's get married. Shorts. Come on, let's let's go with the times anyway. Really hot already. White shirt on trousers and like when when I'm ready to leave you know you always like you missed like two or three things around the house and you kind of scraping around Ohh God rest my wallet grab my keys getting a bit stressed. Getting a bit hot and before I even left the house, I noticed a drip of sweat.

10:59 One little white patch just under my nipple and I was like, oh God, this is this is only grows from here. This is the least I'll sweat today tonight and it's already got a little bit of sweat underneath my nipple. So I was like, I need to do something about. This I've seen this by the way. I've seen you in other situations where you do just. What you get this line? Big line when we play squash and things. That's the first place that I get swept across here. From nipple to nipple, Exactly. It's like one of them, you know those ink blots. But like what do you see people just looking at me, like trying for a psychology, like, but anyway, so I was like, right, OK. So I'll. I'll obviously took my T-shirt off, wiped it down. I was like, this isn't gonna help. I'm still going to sweat.

11:41 That's like, I've got the, like, antiperspirant, but it's. I'm just gonna sweat here. And the problem was, my hair obviously gets wet. And if it brushes against the shirt, it gets wet on the shirt. And it's really, obviously embarrassing, isn't it? So it's like, OK, I know what to do. I know what to do. I'm just going to shave the hair underneath. I'm going to shave a long line off just to get rid of it. Pat, get some antiperspirant on there. It's going to be perfectly. And it did work. OK, it did work, but but there was a problem because I shaved it off and I was like cool, put my shirt back on. 2 minutes later about to leave big red patch over my nipple. I was like what is going on? I I just I just caught my nipple on the end and my nipple was bleeding. Bit of a news flash for anyone who ever cuts the nipple.

12:22 Doesn't stop bleeding. Literally doesn't stop bleeding at all. So I was waiting around, We like waiting to go a bit late. I'm bleeding from my nipple still. So all good because I ended up having to wear a shirt. A T-shirt. Underneath my shirt and I was hotter than I've ever been. Ever. So no point in doing any of this. Completely futile. Completely backfired. That's so funny. At least you don't have to do anything the next day. Like before we get on to that before because you are you are gonna tell me a story about the next day, which is equally funny. I will say one nice thing to them because you know, I can be nice sometimes. When was at the wedding? There are a couple of guests there. He only just paused recording 5 minutes ago to make sure I did. When we were there, they were a couple of kids there who were like late teenagers and Dylan at first just did just blank them out.

13:11 They were just guess that he didn't know. And I said to him, did you realise they're kids? You taught like 8 years ago, they're in your class. And he was like, who? Talking about turning around, You know, he's talking about, He's talking about right there in front of him, didn't know and yeah, And in the end I think the mum who was, who was the groom sister, by the way, ended up coming up and speaking to you and saying some nice things or something. I don't know, maybe if if you want to talk about it, so you know, it's fine now. She's just lovely. And the reason I wanted to talk about it was because if it obviously feels good, doesn't it? It feels good when someone comes up to you and says it was all those years ago, She still remembers having you as a teacher. She still loved having you and like you, you really gave her confidence. And she was like you're one of the few teachers who, you know, constantly just picks her up and like makes her feel good about herself and not like she's doing the wrong thing. And it's just nice to hear one like that come through because that's something that I actively try and do. So to hear that like years later, I'm like, oh, that's a nice thing to hear.

14:05 But two, if you ever see old teacher or you have kids who's with a teacher who inspired them to go and tell them like it, it it will never backfire. Because I know I personally don't do that when I see you laughing at. In my imagination and imagining an extension to the story of where she calls over her kids and she's like kids, come and speak to you. Speak to your teacher. He's got a massive line of fat swear across his boobs and he's and he's bleeding out of his nipples. Come and talk to him. Did you just call it fat Sweat? What's what? As it like I'm not calling you fat. I'm just saying it's it's that's what. It is. It's like under your boobs, isn't it? We all get it. That's please, what would you call it? Wanna go around calling it fast rat, boy? That's fast rat.

14:53 I call you mate. I call it sweat. That's right, because you're fat. Is that what you're saying? No, no, no. That is not what I meant. Dylan, stop trying to paint me out to be a horrible person just because I did a better job than you are hosting last week. And yeah, paint you paint you out by using the words you literally just used. It's me. Ohh must be me. Listen, all right, It's all banter between me and you, OK? But also, moving on from that, I just thought it was boring. So we. I've been really horrible. I know what's wrong with me. Listen 1 whiff 1 whiff of him doing good, half decent job leaving the podcast ladies and gentlemen. This is the monster you've created, everyone. This is the monster your family has created by picking me up, but also an even a bigger, momentous event. You turned 30 yesterday, Yeah, from. Recording this and I don't know if this was related. Did you book a sports massage because you're turning 30? Because you also sent me a bunch of stretching videos and I'm like, I'm not sure.

15:53 I know in a minute we're gonna get on to like being 30, but I'm not sure if all these things are related or if it's just a coincidence. But you you had a sports massage, which went hilariously. Look, look, we just I've just told you the story about how I shaped the line across my chest, and you've got to now imagine this situation where there's no attempt to make it look aesthetically pleasing whatsoever. It was simply to not have hair there so I could not sweat through anyway. The next morning I booked a sports massage, my first ever sports massage, but it's for my leg. I've had a dodgy leg for like 15 years from like a sports injury ages ago where I landed on cricket ball on my knee, right? And it just messed up my whole leg. Where my knee doesn't work properly. My whole leg is like compensating for like for that basically. And I used to have physio and stuff. I'm not doing it for years and my legs just not getting better. It's just slowly getting a bit worse. So I'm like, ah, I am getting older now I I need to like kind of do something.

16:46 So that started with me looking online for simple flexibility because Hayden, I'd like it. I don't know if it winds you up, it winds me up that I literally can't move my body in certain ways just because I can't be bothered to stretch or do anything. Yeah, is that classic thing of when you're a kid, you're like, ohh, whatever. And the adults always talk about stretching and you will lose your mobility if you don't use it. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I cannot bend in any direction other than the seating position and standing up and whatever I sleep in, it's terrible. So that's where it was born from. And I was like, look, this stuff every person can do, like beginner stretches that there's no reason not to do, takes 5 minutes out your day. And I was like, cool. Well, the very least I can do that because the idea of me then going and paying for like a sports massage or going to physio and then being like cool, what do you do?

17:30 And I'm like nothing, like at least do the free stuff for a bit to see if it helps and not just expect this guy to fix your problems. So I did a bit of that for like a week or two and I booked this sports massage in. And anyway, I went there and I was like, that's fine. I want some sports shorts, just a T-shirt. It's like it's for my leg. So you know that that'll be, that'll be no problem. I didn't even think about the fact I had a patch across my chest that morning. Anyway, really nice guy, really lovely bloke. Definitely gonna go back and do some more with him very quickly. Halfway through the massage, Uh mentioned about our tutoring and he was like, Oh yeah, I think I'm subscribed to and YouTube. I was like, what? Hello. It's so awkward, I know, but his daughter's doing going into your six next year, so a lot of our videos help her.

18:14 But yeah, he's just like, I think I subscribed to you as he's like elbowing into my hamstring. But yeah, really lovely bloke. And before you get ready, yet to sign loads of medical forms and stuff. And he kind of stepped, stood up and I was getting ready to go onto the bench, obviously, and get started. And he went to the door and he was like, right, I'll give you a couple minutes to get ready. And I was like, what? Get ready. I think I'm ready to go on it. And he's like, yeah, no, this towel over there if you need it and to cover yourself up. And I was like, oh, this is that not right? Is that OK? Just. And he was just like, ohh, yeah, no, that's that's fine. Maybe just take the top off in case you don't need back work. Hmm. The top. OK, no problem.

18:55 Anyway he left he left the rear was like Oh well this is gonna happen. I've got all I'm going to do. I've got patch across my chest. It's massive patch. So anyway, every any normal person knowing that you're going to have to approach approach this subject will probably just told the truth. Yeah, but yeah, I was like, ohh, what can I come up with where it doesn't sound like it's my own fault because I sweat too much and I wanted so it comes, it comes back in. I was like, oh, one thing, you probably noticed this big patch, just my chest. So it's just the doctor was checking the mole? Ohh is it just bleeding? No, that's just my nipple. He also cut my nipple for some reason. Also, I'm sorry, how big is this model? Is it like a rectangular bowl across the whole patch of your chest now? No, no, it's a it's actually I don't have a mole. I've made that bit up as well.

19:40 I've gotta go. I've gotta go. You'll see me on YouTube. Have you got a pen I can borrow? Draw. Draw. Let's hope that he listens to this podcast as well, yeah? Next time you go, he just like, ohh yeah, shaved your chest again. That would be funny. God's sake. Anyway, yeah, that that's that's my story with the sports massage. But yeah, Tony, 30 in general. I was more bothered about turning 30 about two years ago to 1 1/2 two years ago. Then I was actually turning 30. It was definitely like a mental block for me when I was younger. But now I'm actually 30, I'm completely over it and I feel great.

20:20 Like it doesn't bother me whatsoever. But there's definitely something, isn't there, about just that that flip over into a century. Country not that old that flipped. Over here he goes again. It's the next decade. I think. It's just, you think, ohh, did I make the most of my 20s? Did I do all the right things? I'm in the position. Yeah, that's right. But you just need to let go of those comparisons I think. You do And it's and it's hard to to be fair because our life is like, our culture is just comparisons, isn't it Is to be doing this by the time you're 25 and you need to be married and then you have house, then you have kids and it's like, I hate this, like, oh, people can just do what they want at any pace or not do what they want. And it doesn't literally doesn't matter as long as you're happy. But yeah, it's true.

21:01 I turned 30 last year and it was like. I just, I'm exactly the same. Nothing's different. I just can't say I'm in my 20s anymore and that's it. And you? You do look decrepit. Yeah, luckily I've been aged from about 40 since I was about 20, so it's no different. No different to me at all. You're gonna look the same until you're 45. It's great for you. Yeah, that is a perk. I do keep saying like, hey, look, poor people do tend to just kind of look the same for a long time. So yeah, just saying, just give more wrinkly. But turning 30? Yeah, weird one. There's definitely a few things though that come with turning 30 or being in your 30s in general, and we definitely have started. Have you bought loads of stuff to keep your garden green, including some kind of shoe? Construction.

21:45 Oh, are you exposing the fact that we haven't still haven't got past the point in which forgot to pass that bit that we've wasted all that time. We haven't. We haven't added loads in though, made it even longer, So we're not very good at making it shorter, you know. So I'm gonna show you a device that I've bought because I pretend to have not seen it or. Pretend to not seen it for this in the viewers. So this is something I haven't showed yet. You gotta pretend in a minute. So I bought for my garden because I'm 30 now. Some shades, some air rating shoes, check them out. So if you're not watching the video right now, these are essentially a big chunk of plastic that wraps around your shoe. It has massive spikes on the bottom, loads and loads of nails, and you use it.

22:29 I'm going to make sure you still interested. And we use it to walk across the garden, punch a bunch of holes in it, aerate it, Oh yeah, get the air in your soil, fertilise your garden, and then your grass grows back nice and green. Yeah, it's it's it's as least riveting as last time. It's less riveting. It's as it's as riveting as last time which is 0 out of 10. It's as least riveted as the lasting time. Echoes Stellan and his speaking. You know what the only prerequisite for running a podcast is? Can you speak properly? And I fell on that. No. Can you can? You can you record properly?

23:09 No, no. We gotta do it again. We're gonna do it anyway. We're gonna pop it anyway. You take the Mick out of my recent obsession with gardening, which you know, comes to the 30s, but you've been in your 30s forever because the other, like, cliche thing of your 30s is getting into golf. And you've been, you've got into, like, really into golf. I'd say like in terms of me and you. Being friends, you you've really got obsessed with golf, like three years ago. So yeah, yeah, it was it. I always say when COVID, the first thing that came back after COVID was like golf. It was like the perfect COVID game. But yeah, I've, I've been playing golf forever. Like I I think I've got a set of golf clubs for my 13th birthday. So I played on and on and off for ages.

23:51 But that is one of the other things. And I saw a meme and this is where it's kind of come from. It was like men really do turn 30 and make one of these their whole personality. One was G1 was just like a lawn that was really green. Another one was a BBQ. It's so true. Isn't. It God, I really want true. Everyone knows it was bad when it comes to popular audit. I'll do it. I'll do it. I'll do it. Me. Give it to me. I can make a mean sausage. OK? And halloumi halloumi on my. My step Macross. Steph Macross? Yeah, sorry, I was gonna pitch pitch a chicken onto my BBQ perfectly, that's what. I've always thought that was like a bit, you know, different, unique. Growing up. Absolutely. Just becoming the most stereotypical cliche man ever. Just getting into the same stuff. You see these videos that exposed you completely and you're like, oh, I am just generic. Yes, that's good.

24:41 Yeah, that's a lovely waste of time there. So nice one. It was probably move on to the main bulk of the episode should be and fight. And finally, we are now at the point where this is brand new, so. I remember something, so we're going back in time again. This is episode 26. Which is halfway through a year. So we are now at the half point. That's pretty cool, right? And now we're at the point where we've not said anything before, but also that's probably we should have said that when we said we were on episode 26, which was like 20 minutes ago. So anyways. Should we record the whole lot? You are listening to this whether you like it or not, whether you can hear us or not. So see you in a minute. Welcome back.

25:28 And Hayden, Are you ready to have a conversation we've not had yet you looking forward to that this week? Take one, take one. And if you're listening to this, it made the cut. So well done us for being able to do something we've done for half a year anyway, We're thinking because you know, we decide we took that decision, didn't we hate. And to continue this podcast all the way through the summer holidays. The main reason is because we actually just really enjoy doing it. It's a good laugh for us and you know, we want to just we don't want to break them out. As soon as we stop doing something, we just come off the waggon. Don't. We we're so proud of that. That is our worst habit. Genuinely that it's like the, you know, like people saying business, you should try and get people who like, have different skill sets. Me and Dylan are both absolutely terrible at like, just forgetting to do something once we stop doing it, and it's not routine.

26:14 Umm, so yeah, you have to keep doing it. You suggesting this podcast is a business owner? Because if so, where's my share? Because I've not got. Ohh well, I've been. I've been making all the money from the merch store that we're making this year, Underfed baby. And if you daft means do let us know. Yeah. But basically it just got me thinking. You see a lot of this online as well, Hayden where I'm on the on Twitter on our account and I know you mentioned Mr Pi guess last week put a video out just around this kind of idea of the summer holidays and we had a real actually with him which sparked a bit of debate that will come onto. But the general idea of this podcast, I think it's just a dive a bit more into the summer holidays because I think if you're a teacher the summer holidays can be very different from person to person from each teacher for a number of reasons. But also I know we have a lot of listeners who aren't in education and we'll have this idea of the summer holidays as well as this kind of bliss utopia where every summer teachers get six weeks off work and and it's just planned in and they get to be of their children who are obviously off work at the same time if they have kids.

27:18 And it's this very positive vibe and I think often uses that stick to beat us with as if to say well what do you got moan, you got that six week summer holiday. And I think the the thing I wanted to dive into first and we can go into the details of the reels and what people have said and stuff. It's just our experience of the summer holiday in general, because it's not always this bliss kind of utopian idea of what a lovely six weeks after rest and recharge. And you've spoken about it before. Hayden and I get the same kind of feeling sometimes. So in general, what's your idea? This, all of this? Because we're not grateful, are we? It is lovely. No, no, not at all. And And I look forward to it every single year. I never, ever, ever, ever begrudge having it or regret taking it.

28:00 Do you know what I mean? It's it's definitely a treasure time, but and I don't know how. Common this is, and I think my eyes were opened more a bit more recently and maybe thinking I wasn't alone but I've always struggled, always struggled with the Blues in generally, like school holidays, not even just the summer holidays. I don't know what it is, but I just find my I always just get a bit down. My mood always just goes right down, despite having like the thing that you think you want the most is right there at your fingertips. And and I think it's because it's like the lack of routine, um, even when I'm knackered and working and stuff, for some reason I have like a base level of happiness still, even though I'm absolutely exhausted by the term. And then in the summer holidays in particular, I just find my mood just goes like this over time, literally just gets lower and lower and lower.

28:50 And then I'll find myself miserable by the end. And I'm thinking, what is wrong with me? Like it's summer. I should be doing everything I want to do. And I really do just think it is, because it's not routined and I'm one of those people that really just, I need that. The team I need to be knowing what I'm doing, keep my mind occupied all the time. And if I have too many days where I've not really got anything planned, I will just sit there and Stew and I'll just sit on my phone. I'll watch a bit of TV. I won't do anything. And then I'll get the end of the day and be annoyed that I've done nothing. And I'll see that my mates have been, are we booked this thing? And I'm thinking, I've sat here all day. I didn't even think about booking something for the future, like I didn't even plan anything. What's wrong with me? And yeah, I just get really down in the dumps and I hate that. And I always thought I was alone, so I've never spoke about it before.

29:31 I don't know. Do you? Do you get like that? I don't even know. Yes, it's you. I I get it then summer holidays for sure. I sometimes get like that on a Sunday in term time as well though it because especially where those weekends when we worked full time, those weekends were so valuable. If I felt like I'd wasted a Sunday and almost not had that great amazing time and not done that thing over and above and beyond, I got annoyed at myself that I'd wasted that day. And I do wonder if in the summer holidays, I think there's some kind of middle ground that I passed through where it's OK to have some days where it's just, you know, rest and relax and recharge. Yeah. But like we said, everyone's so different. And I think knowing that, like for example, have you ever thought if you think you've identified that it's down to your routine, so you might think it's down to your routine? Maybe.

30:16 For me, I think it's more purpose. I like seeing that what I've done has an outcome, whether that's me feeling more relaxed or me feeling like if I teach a week of maths, I feel like the kids have made some good progress there. Or even the summer holidays. We go away for a weekend and I feel like I've had a really fun time. Whatever it is. I like eating something at the end of it. But I I certainly get frustrated or annoyed if I if I just kind of just float through a day because I think, well, OK, well, I could have got this done in the house, even if it's a boring task. I could have got that done. I could have moved my cups from my table, yeah. But you know, just this generic idea and and if you've identified it's your routine and some other people say that online as well, have you tried to do anything about that?

31:00 I don't know. I mean, I I think when I recognise it, I do. Yeah, I guess so, like in a way and not not probably as good as I could have done, but like I will do something. I'll I'll try and do something because I know that I will get the the satisfaction at the end of it. I'm probably the same as you in that respect. If I've achieved something, I think mine's more like an achievement. If I've achieved something quantifiable in that day, that will make me feel good. And but the problem is I don't value like relaxation and stuff like that as an achievement. I see it as a wasted opportunity and I think I've shot. Myself in the foot and and maybe you you as well, maybe not as much. I know that our like business relationship has always been quite interesting and that I'll always want to just like burn the candle at both ends for some reason and you'll be a bit more like Oh my God just chill.

31:50 We've done we've done so much this week. Let's just not. And I think I have ruined my brain a little bit because we spent a good three to four years absolutely grinding, didn't we, with like we were full time teachers and we started to build our business. Our tutoring business, which we've talked about in another episode if you want to check out how that led to us going part time. But we had a we had a good like 3 solid years of being full time and all we did on our evenings and weekends was run our business and build that and and I just, I think it was long enough to get my brain into this um. Like I've retrained it to be like, ohh, now you only feel satisfied if you achieve this astronomical amount of stuff per week.

32:33 And then when we've we've we've dropped that now because we, I think we're retraining our brains in. You have definitely taken the lead on this and I do really appreciate it because there's no way I would have done it on my own of just being like, cool. Now stop. Yeah. You're going to have all your evenings back. We're not going to do any work on the evenings now, Hayden. We're not going to do it. And even if I do it, you'll be like, cool, you crack on, I'm not doing it. And it always, like, brings you back down to be like, OK, this is not a thing that we're not both. In this right now, this is me choosing to and I just need to go one step further. And I think I think next year we'll be really good. I know we're trying to continue doing that and clawing back some time. I just need to appreciate it and that's my biggest problem. I don't appreciate my relaxation time. I don't value it because I'm not achieving something. Yeah.

33:16 And and and in in realistic times you are achieving something aren't you know but that that's this this kind of we talk about it in general but summer holidays I think really exacerbates this for people and there's a lot of things where teachers can sometimes be seen as ungrateful almost if they ever dare to talk about summer holidays and this kind of negative light. And I think we just need more of a debate around it and I think it's really good online. I do see a lot of that and and people being very honest and truthful and a really big thing and and I can see this especially, you know, when I was younger, I've got a really solid group of friends. You know, we do certain stuff that is routine and like for example playing football and if we wanna do something it's the kind of thing where we can we can just message each other and get that sorted and stuff.

34:00 But I can see how for a lot of people in the summer holidays especially, it can be quite isolating because teaching is so intense that for you know, 6-7, eight weeks you're basically just thinking about work, especially in the mindset that we were in previously. You're getting stuff done. Your weekends are taken up because you got to get that history unit planned or you've got to tweak that mass planning. It ekes into so much of your life that it's basically a rollercoaster ride for eight weeks where you can't come off it in a social aspect. And then you're kind of given six weeks at the end and expected, but go on then social butterfly. Off you go, go and spread your wings, go and see everyone. And people really struggle with that dynamic because everyone carries on working at the pace that they've been working at. We go on a roller coaster and then sit down for a rest. Everyone else is just on the ghost ride, you know, just going along nicely, you know there's no change of pace there and I've seen a lot of people talk about loneliness and it's it's not a nice thing to talk about, but it is rife in our society and it seems to be both ends of the kind of generational spectrum. Older people we know get lonely, but those young professionals who put so much of their time into job and especially teachers pre family, so you know you don't have your kids to look after and stuff and then some holidays, even those people as well just get very lonely in the holidays I think. Someone said to me before, I don't know if we've talked about this, I don't think we have.

35:16 So once said to me that teachings are really, really lonely job and I didn't really get what they meant at the time. I was thinking, what you talking about? We're constantly talking. We're constantly surrounded by people. Like we're in a classroom of 30 kids all day. Like, what do you mean it's lonely? And then they explained it to me and I was like, oh man, I understand this. And they were basically saying they're like, yeah, but. You're basically isolated as an adult, so your own social, you know, your real social interactions, you're not really having any of them. You spend 6-7 hours of the day. To basically leading meetings because you're just leading a classroom of children that you're not. They're not really your socialising people. You might be pretending to socialise and teaching them about being social, but you're not.

35:58 You're not really socialising. It can be quite lonely. And I was like, ohh, you're right actually, because a lot and a lot of jobs. You will work with colleagues your age and you'll be working in an office or something like that. And you will just be able to have lots of like casual social interactions maybe throughout the day even though you getting work done as well. I was like, yeah, that's kind of true. So there is, there is an element of like a risk of loneliness I think in this job for sure. Yeah and it and it just I think the the way that the job set out exacerbates that and some holidays is like a real hotspot. And I've really enjoyed seeing not it's not nice to see someone say they're lonely or but it I've really enjoyed seeing online people being really open about it basically and and then people replying and then getting in touch. And I think you mentioned a video again, Lee did well our guest last week along those lines. Yeah.

36:45 So I ICT with Mr P going to call him that. That's his brand name, I guess. But Lee, who was our guest last week, he I don't know. What it was I watched about a week ago but he did it like a real and he was just, yeah, it was just talk about exactly this and just saying how, yeah, some people do struggle through the summer and you should just like look out for your team mates basically because they're not all gonna be just we can't assume they will just be having this great time because they've got time off work. They might actually be quite lonely and feeling isolated and feeling out of routine and anxious because of that and then feeling a bit down in the dumps, which is basically how I always feel by the end of the summer holidays. It's mad, he in our episode last week. He asked a really interesting question and we did actually clip this out as a reel as well and it went, he put it on his Facebook and on his Instagram. And he Lee, asked would we trade in our school holidays and have just not like normal standard holidays across the year, which is like 4 weeks standard holidays. You kind of like Burke, you choose your holidays, but we work normal school hours.

37:49 And me and you were both like, I think we would, I think we would pick normal school hours. And sacrifice some holidays. But he put it on his social media and I thought was so interesting Cos obviously got tonnes of interaction and I've picked out a couple of comments. Dylan, you haven't seen these, so I just thought I'd thought Checo. I tried to. I picked three. I won't say the context of them. I'll let you decide why I'm reading it so very quickly before you start. The problem we have on this, and I'm sure the viewers maybe get this sometimes, is we're we're in a very similar life position aren't we? Our our point of view on this they don't really ever like, don't overlap massively. So I'm really looking forward to hearing some ideas that maybe I think ohh yeah take it off and there's this person here like no, don't because of this so. Yeah, we're down to the point where we even work in the same school, so even our literal school experience is like basically the same.

38:36 So here's the first one. They said if I worked contracted hours, I would take that option as in trading the summer holidays, without a doubt. Being able to choose your holidays like others is a perk. Taking time with other half, not having to pay a fortune for holidays. That's one I didn't think about last time. Just teach, just teach in front of my kids. Yes please. So they're like big up the idea of you just work your contracted hours and then they finished off saying this so far these holidays and we're talking summer holidays because this was very recent. I have spent 42. Hours in my classroom and countless hours at home planning for next year. Roll onto my actual holiday away from home and a computer.

39:17 So that one very much just backs up what kind of like what we were saying. Really. Yeah. And and on that, whilst we're on this point quickly, I did ask people on Instagram, I asked people how long have they spent this summer holiday in school? Hmm. So and it was linked to you said a 42? Hours. Yeah. And and and there was one thing, there was one thing that linked everyone pretty much who'd spent 3-4 or five days in school and it was moving classroom and and it was saying yeah, yeah, I've spent five days. It's got I had to move my classroom. And it's just this again, this idea, this crazy idea in teaching, where this huge job of moving furniture, moving your stuff, resetting everything, doing all the backgrounds, doing this or that, which I just happened to not have this year because we're staying in the same classroom.

40:01 Yeah, but this person in another school has been told they've got to move classrooms and be like, yeah, OK, see you in September. It's like, sorry, do you understand? This can't happen unless I come in in my summer holidays for four days. It's outrageous, isn't it? It's actually, it's genuinely mad and I'm going to do a little analogy now and I'm going to read the next comment because it does kind of link nicely to a wider point, right. That to me is the same as I used to work at Tesco, used to work as the. That is the same as let's say we both worked at Asda, right? And my store had a big renovation over the summer and they needed loads of they needed staff to come in to get all the shelves down and then get everything back up again at the end, right? But your store didn't. It would be like in my my store. We all just have to go in for free for some reason and do that for like 5 days of work. And because your store hasn't been renovated, you don't. It's like obviously you'd get paid at your store for doing that.

40:52 Um. Which leads me to my wider point after I read this next one. So here's the next comment. OK, this person said. Hmm. I already leave at half four and don't do any work at home on the weekends, so I'd say no. I love the long summer break. Yeah, which got me again. That got loads of interaction. Yeah, that. That gets the point, I I bet. I bet people were replying to that guy. Sorry. How? Yeah, the first comment was how do you do this? How do you do that? And I'll tell you how. I'll tell you how because it's the way. It's the wider thing and it's not 100% of it. But this is probably the biggest factor is it's it's not systemized whatsoever. It's this job is mad. It is pot luck. But like your workload depends on what school you're at. So we have this nationalised system of pay, very, very rigid and that's been really whittled down over the years because it used to be a lot more ways you could be paid extra for extra things, and that's really been crushed into the main pay scale now.

41:48 So you know we're all paid the same for this same job and the job is not remotely the same anywhere you go. And that is like another massive bug bear of mine. Yeah. And this is brilliant because listeners, if you listen up later on, we've got a toxic SLT segment and it really, really leads nicely into this bit. So just just hold on to what you're thinking right now. But I think about the schools I've worked at. OK, So I've spent most of my time at two schools. There's there's no way that attitude would get me as far as the systems and the school does. So this idea of, you know, I think me and you sometimes are guilty of just saying to people like you got to change your outlook. Like come on guys, let me help you out because we have the outlook of. If it's not needed to be done and it's detrimental to your well-being and it's basically taking the Mick, then don't do it.

42:34 I think we we are allowed to do a lot of that because of the system we're in in our school, which which is not very detrimental to well-being and a situation where you feel heard and things can change because you say things and nothing's kind of malicious or anything like that. However, that that attitude, if I had the same attitude in the other school that I worked at, then that wouldn't get me nearly as far. So, so to suggest it's just down to the person, you're absolutely right, it's not. It is definitely from the systems that we've built in different schools and the expectations. It's just, it's just unfair. Yeah. And then you get to extrapolate that too. And there's 10s of thousands of schools in the country and every single one of them is different as well.

43:15 It's like what? So that person, I just think about that for a second. Those two people, they're both teachers. They both commented on this same post. They're engaging with the same thing. They let's just imagine they get they're on the same pay point, they're getting paid the same. One of them's doing like considerably more work than the other one. And I say I did put a disclaimer in saying it's not 100% because the scores, it is also just down to there are other factors like even just your personal preferences as well. Like you might just want to literally, I really want to jazz up my classroom a bit more than I need to just because I think it is nice. There are personal things as well, but it's just I don't get it. I don't know what the answer is, but it's ludicrous that we have this wildly, wildly, wildly volatile, versatile system where everyone could do different things but it's the same pay. I think anyway 111 basic answer very quickly is just that if anything you know we we just have to be paid for things we're instructed and told to do.

44:09 Like I think that's the base thing that I think people that doesn't exist in teaching and I think that's a really easy thing to do isn't it? And it's like OK come in, we want you to move classroom. It's come in and move the classroom. We'll pay you a day's wage If it doesn't get done in that day we're going to pay you overtime because you come in tomorrow to get it done. I can manage you. I can come round and like ensure you're doing your work properly not taking the Mick. It doesn't take you 5 days. You should take one that's just part of managing people. But you don't. You don't then jump to. Well, people might do that, so we just won't pay them at all. No, that's not the answer. No, that's not how the private sector works, isn't it? Really. That's how it works. If you're a quantity surveyor. I've got lots of friends, that's why I'm thinking of that. And you're in one, you're in one, You work for one company. You know your expectations will be different. But if you have, if you gotta do a bunch of other time, they'll pay you.

44:58 But if you go to another company, they don't have that overtime. They're not gonna pay for that. Like you're just paid for what you've done. It's itemised and there's a list of stuff that's going to take you time and they pay you for that time. Absolutely. Anyway, I'm going to stop there. Here's my here's the third comment and I just this is quite cool. It kind of rounded up everything. So this person said before my daughter was born which and she put in brackets 20 years ago so been teaching a long time. I spent part of my summer in in transitions in Transition summer school to help children from year six, year seven. It was teaching and it was fun activities and they were home by 4:00 and I loved it. I taught for 22 years before I had to get out so they were quite the way they worded it was interesting being out for eight years now in another career and I'm so much happier than my last than my last years in school. So it was just highlighting that fact and and a lot of teachers have been around a long time say this, that it has changed big time like the job used to be by the sounds of it a lot more enjoyable in terms of it was manageable and people didn't feel too stressed and they could do what they needed to do and go home at reasonable times, work reasonable hours. So I just thought it was an interesting one to finish up with someone being like hey didn't used to be like this. And also what's interesting to me about that is not only were they paid better about then could put compared to how much things cost like housing, food, et cetera. But then they also felt in a position where they could then use their summer holidays to go and bump up their pay with some extra work.

46:18 We've got some people who we work with of that generation who said they used to work through there some holidays used to like reading, reading incentives and courses and stuff for children. And I can, I can imagine that I would do that. It's the same thing I said a few weeks ago about things like, you know, going to cross country at the weekend and stuff if it's a reasonable job and we are paid well. For it we are. The teachers are the kind of people who will go above and beyond and do that kind of thing and will want to work through summers. No one will do that now because we resent doing it. We're at the point now Hayden, where some teachers are expected to come in for holiday, summer clubs and things to do, Sats preparation during term time and you know it's just, it's just crazy during term time. Yeah, you have not heard like in like holidays and stuff. So like the term the one before where Sats happens, they'll do like booster clubs in half term or they'll do Saturday morning. Used to clubs where the children come in and it's kind of depending again on what system you're in, what school you're in, how experienced you are and confident enough to say no, We've seen teachers taken for a ride constantly haven't we, who are just a bit younger, SLT are experienced, They don't care and they take advantage of the fact that you're experienced. And we'll just say yes to something to say, oh, we're doing this Saturday club for Sats but you see you there. You know, that kind of like strong armed question. Not a real question.

47:33 Yeah, See you there. We're doing that. And then they're like, Oh yeah, OK And they just go along and do it. Absolutely lovely people just being taken for a ride. Yeah, it's not fair. It's not fair. That's why we started this podcast, because we want to stand up for those people. And you know what has been quite nice? We have had a few people write in or even speak to us and say thanks for that because I listened to that and then I ended up telling my SLT no or whatever, You know, they said actually no, I was getting taken for a mug and I just needed someone to tell me that it's OK to put your foot down sometimes. I think that's the number one thing that I would love to see in teaching happen a bit more and I know being in a senior leadership team is extremely stressful. OK. And we don't do that job and I understand there are things we need to get done. But I I would just love to transform a few people, a few ideas where that doesn't transform into top down.

48:20 Do this for me right now. Really frustrating. But yeah, in general summer holidays, I absolutely love them. Means my birthday is always in a summer holiday. So selfishly that's really nice as well. Not a perk many people get. But yeah, you're right. I think to beat people with a stick and and suggest that there's one-size-fits-all for everyone, it's going to be perfectly lovely. It it just doesn't make sense. I did see someone hate and talk about. They had children in school and they were like, please do not change. This is perfect for me. I know it's a tough job. I just ride the roller coaster while I can, but I get six weeks from my kids every year and that's like that. Like, that's priceless really, isn't it? Yeah, I actually saw a very similar one. It might have even been the same thread or something. But someone else then was saying how that is abused to the maximum. Like, they just, they know that people want the holidays to spend time with their kids, so they just absolutely keep. They keep them in the game that way. They keep them in teaching.

49:13 They'll always keep people in teaching because they just simply cannot afford because of childcare, the childcare trap as they call it, they cannot afford to to not do this job with these working hours. So they'll just they'll just take advantage of them knowing that they won't quit because they can't. And tell you what, that problem translates a lot to teaching assistants who are on a pittance, nowhere near what they should be paid. But how many teaching assistants have we worked with who are teaching assistants? Because they can finish the job, go and pick the kids up from school, drop the kid off in the morning, Come on, almost every single one is going to say many, many, all the time. Yeah. Or they used to do that. And their kids growing up and they just stayed in their job because they got so used. Carried on. Yeah, yeah. Ohh, man. Well anyway, moving on.

49:55 We've got two more segments left, haven't we? We've got, we've got some stories in the classroom a bit later on, which I'm looking forward to it because I love it and I'm gonna say it now even though we'll say it again later on. Please write in your stories because not only does it make us laugh for me, just get them anyway. We then get to share them on the podcast and make each other laugh even more. And I know Dylan's got a couple of stories for later that I have not seen, so I'm looking forward to that. And we've also, and it might lead quite nicely on from from that one, we've got like a toxic story. So we do quite like to share in this podcast. We've got a lot of new new listeners actually Dylan. So let's do, we'll explain it a bit more and we we like to. Hello, thanks for joining us. Made it this far. You made it this far after the mess up in the intro and all that. Wow, guys, still take one, Still take one. By the way.

50:37 Yeah, this bit. Yeah, We didn't cut anything. So we like to share as much as possible. And it does rely on you guys writing things in most of the time. Some toxic stories as well. Because you know what, we've got a bit of a platform here. We're trying to grow this platform and if we can, we can out these toxic stories that happen in schools and maybe make it a bit more commonplace to be like, no, this is not cool, you know, stand up for people, then That's something we'd like to do. And and you know how it's working again. Do you know how we know it's working going on? Because after that episode called When Schools become Toxic, not only did we receive up to upwards of 10 messages from people saying thank you, we also received our only ever one star review on Apple Podcasts. So meeting someone, I think somebody didn't like what we were saying. So if you can, help us out, if you've listened to this podcast at any point or you've enjoyed what you've heard, it helps us so much because we are fighting A1 Star Review, especially if you have an iPhone.

51:33 Because we've got a 5*5*5*5*5*5*5*1 star and it just it just brings us down a bit. But we're not going to stop, because if that gets US1 star review, we'll crack on. We'll get 10 to one star reviews. Who cares? Yeah, we'll get more SLT riled up also. On that note, should we Should we play the Jingle and move on to a toxic SLT story? I got Yes, please. Right, let's dive straight in. Toxic SLT Hayden. I've had this written into me. It's going to obviously remain anonymous because it is calling out something that's they don't like about their school. But you've not seen this. I've seen this and I felt this, and I hope you feel it too. And I think a lot of people who are teachers in particular, but even people who just have management, who expect a lot of them for nothing, I think it's relatable. So I'm going to start reading.

52:27 Ready. Yep. OK, it starts off really nice. Hey guys, recently found your podcast and I absolutely love it. I listened to five episodes in one day whilst cracking on with the housework and laughed so much. So that was nice to read. That peaked my interest straight away. I'm gonna, yeah. However, it's the Toxic Schools episode you did that we just mentioned. That really hit home and made me want to write in. I am currently absolutely bogged down with work to do this summer that's been dictated to us all. In the name of change. She's put in inverted commas. I think that's it is changed. But I think it's like this because change sounds nice, doesn't it? Then what's about to happen? Yeah, so we are changing our maths curriculum completely from scratch, brand new.

53:11 We're changing how we deliver writing lessons, so that's about half your English lessons. We need to replan all of our afternoon topics across the year after our curriculum lead went to visit a nearby school in Term 6, who'd recently been praised from Ofsted. Everything we do now in the afternoon has to be in line with them. The idea that we were changing a lot was raised to SLT lightly in a meeting. We've all had that, haven't we? In a meeting where someone kind of wants to say something? Tentatively, it was raised with SLT in a meeting because that's a lot to change. We'll dive into that in a minute. That's just crazy. Yeah. At the end of the year, it was raised and their response was a simple Don't worry, we're not changing much. So now my summer is stacked with planning, which says otherwise. Why do we make so much work for ourselves at the same time that is so, so pointless yours a frustrated teacher, Anonymous. And I can make her more frustrated because just there's that guy that commented on that post earlier. He's going out of four every day. It doesn't work at the weekends.

54:09 Hasn't got any of this work to do. Same job, same pay. Exactly. When when you said that story out, I was like, I can't believe how much this links in what's crazy. Ohh, that's just mental. Like, I don't know. I don't know how I should feel about it because obviously schools have to do stuff that's different. Like obviously they do, but it is just not fair. I don't know if I'm just throwing my toys out of the pram here. It's not fair that that person has to do so much more for the same amount of pay as the other person. Their time is just not valued. For whatever reason, the the thing that frustrates me the most of that whole thing, because Hayden, Realistic and every teacher listening to this, I'm going to back up what you just said. We know that we can't simply plan maths like once and then that's maths done for the next 10 years. In year four.

54:52 We know it's not as simple as that because each cohort is different. You can react differently to your groups. There's going to be new research is going to be new ideas, new teachers, you deliver stuff differently. We're not that naive to say, oh we're just playing everything once and it stays there forever. What really gets me about this? Because I've seen it. And it wants me U is doing 4 things at once. Simply like so to say that your curriculum lead went to visit a local school by the way, simply because Ofsted said it was good, like that's terrible in its own so don't chase Ofsted's tail because they changed their mind every two minutes anyway. But for that to have happened, OK, fair enough. We've been to other schools after Ofsted just to see what the what the experience was like. It's it's useful information. But then come back and say, cool, we're replanning the entire afternoon curriculum because of on the back of that. Move.

55:40 Just think about the workload that involves, because we are by the way talking about geography and history and science and anything else to do with topic, very specific subjects. But to do that knowing full well that you've just bought into a new maths curriculum from scratch, from the ground up. So like an actual, actually she was saying how it's an actual, you know, a scheme of work. It's not. Just like you can use what you've got and tweak it. It is from the ground up. It's just unbelievable. It grinds my gears. It comes from SLT, who are at the top watching all of this happen and being like us, right? Yeah, yeah, because they're in a management position and it's a very, very cliche thing to say, but it's quite common, isn't it?

56:22 That people, once they've been maybe out of the classroom for a long enough time, they kind of forget what it's like and forget how much extra workload there is that it's hard to put your finger on and say what it is, but you're there every evening till 5 for some reason. You have to do another hour at home and you can't really say what it is because it's kind of different things every week. But there is a very common generalisation, isn't there, that SLT forget that and then they start doing things like this. And I think it just needs to be a bit of a reality check sometimes and there should be something that holds them accountable. Like I know that Anu, when we went to that Zoom meetings, remember ages ago that was like it was about the strikes and all that like but quite a while ago. And they put forward to the government that there needs to be way more accountability on work life balance, which is exactly what that is, that this woman is identify as a woman presuming, yeah, well this this this woman, her work life balance has been completely skewed.

57:14 It's terrible. That's not good. And there should be something in place that's like, no, that can't, that literally can't happen because you're completely abusing that person's rights and working hours. It's ridiculous. And there's just not still the government rejected it. And they said, remember, they said something like they didn't just say no, it was something like posterous idea. Like it was like they were, like, disgusted with the idea. That so their point was basically they were like how dare you suggest we take away autonomy from schools to change and improve stuff. You know as if that's what we're saying. Like no, I'm sorry. We're just we're workers who want to be compensated for the work we do that what are you on about what? It's it's an insane profession where you can just, you know, just because that person went to that meeting right, they've now got.

58:02 Hours and hours and hours and hours of work. And nothing changes their bank balance at the end of the week. Nothing changes what gets dropped into their account that that the mass lead at this school could have just said, you know, one more year then because we're changing the curriculum. You know, I don't know what came first. One more year because we're doing all this work, then we'll change the mass curriculum and and that would save 10s of hours for each person every term. But instead, instead they didn't. So now you've got to literally do 10 hours extra work each month for nothing. Like. Can you imagine? Like you're doing the analogy earlier I've asked the saying needed to come in Sunday, 10 hours please and you're OK how much? Hmm. Just need it Just I've decided. We've decided that we're rebranding the kitchen, the kitchen area.

58:45 So we want we need you to come in and do that. What's wrong with it? What's what's wrong with the kitchen area we've got now? But as the down the road got a new one, we quite like it. So can you come in and do us? No, Ohh, but you're a Baker, you've got to be in the kitchen you. It's your place of work. I know I'm not. Yeah, yes, absolutely, absolutely. We work quite closely with like a web development company, said Dylan. Had a website built last year and we worked very closely with that company still and because obviously there's a lot that goes into like managing a website. That surprise, surprise. And this again no surprise is that anytime we need something from them that is itemised and build every time that they have a very high professional rate of like ��60 per hour which is genuinely like that sounds crazy I imagine to like teachers and things but that's like a is a very high rate but that is the professional rate that you pay for. Like a graphic designer, web designer who can software develop this way.

59:40 And we pay it because like we can't do it and they're not going to do it. They don't just do it for free for fun, it's timed and then we get billed for that time and that's what I'd expect. And we just don't have that in this culture of of education. It's just your time is just worthless. And that's awful. But it just, it's just worth nothing to the top. The top top. And that trickles down, unfortunately, to some SLT. And it's at the whim of a few individuals in each school or each trust who allow this to happen. These people are allowing it to happen. The head teacher of this school or the executive head, if they're in a trust. Because you hear these horrible stories about these executive head CEOs who kind of wear it as a badge, a badge of honour, how hard they make their staff work. Yeah.

1:00:25 No. It is because of you and your systems and your culture. You should be stepping in to control this and you act. Even if you don't do it purposefully, you letting it happen is as good as and that needs to stop. And I really passionately want to say people like this, who are just doing their job, who are just lovely people who don't want to do the wrong thing. How many teachers Hayden, have you heard before say ohh. I just do what I'm told and and and they're not being that. They're being lovely. There are these amazing brilliant teachers who are just being taken advantage of because someone walked in who spends 2 days a week in their schools. They got 7 schools to manage, just walked in and said ohh actually no this needs to happen bye and they just expect it to happen. And who ends up doing all the work? The sorry people at the bottom.

1:01:11 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Enjoy. It reminds me of King Curtis. Do you remember that mean No, that lad. It was on a Wife Swap USA or something and he did a Wife Swap and the new mum came in and told him he can't have chicken Nuggets anymore. He's got eat properly. Ohh, I think I what's the quote? Ohh, you come in here and we're just sorry people. Was it with Jihad Heels on or something like that? Is that the one? You will never see this face again at the back? Yeah, back-to-back. And that's what we need to do guys. When that annoying CEO walks into the room or that leader comes in and says we've got to change four things, you go King Curtis on him and tell him you'll never see this face again. But like, in all seriousness, I think, I think I'm at that level of stubbornness now where I'm sort of like if that happened and luckily it's not happening.

1:02:00 I like the school we work out, but if that happened. And it was like, yeah, all these things now and it's just this crazy, intense workload on top of everything else. I think I'd just be like no. Because I I know my rights and I know how protected I am as well. So what you gonna do about it? Genuinely, I think I'd be like, what you gonna do? I will do my job to the to the. I already do. Way over the hours. I do all my directed time. I plan on teach lessons. I'd meet all teaching standards. I'm not doing that. Yeah, completely. Try something. Nothing you can do. I think that's that that's what we need more of and and and it is such a we talked about this a million times on the podcast we need to go into again. But it's such a leap of like it is such a leap of faith for a lot of people in the place where they work and they are employed by and they need they obviously need their security and stuff. I know for a fact that younger me in previous schools or places I absolutely would not want to rock the boat because I would feel like it might damage my career or the way they treat you know the the way they treat you because it's not worth that. That would be worse for your well-being. It's like a well-being balance.

1:03:00 It's like you want terrible way well-being. Or do you want absolutely awful well-being? Take your poison and it's usually ohh. Just crack on with the work, then, shall I? Yeah, exactly. It is hard. Easier said than done. I will say that right now I sit here, give it all the talk, but really it is hard to do. So that's what we're here for, Hayden, isn't it? To try and give that point of view. So that was our toxic story. I thought it was a brilliant one. And if you do have more toxic stories, please do, because this is what you know, we are passionate about this, don't we? So we do love talking about this kind of thing. But Hayden, I do have a couple of what I think are really funny stories. So should we. Save this till last day. Let's do it. So hated on Instagram, a bunch of new followers as well. I think a lot of people came over from the MVP episode. So if you are now watching this episode from there, the last week or so, welcome.

1:03:52 We do a little segment storage from the classroom and it started off with us a whole episode Stories from the Classroom where our favourite stories of teaching and now people write into us and and hey, it's your favourite thing isn't it? This whole I love it. I honestly if every episode was just this I'd I'd be in my element just because it's so funny. So we got some stories in and this is from someone who is in my school Hayden you know them but again going to remain anonymous. But we we know this person quite well and this person doesn't actually work in a school but this person said their mum worked at a school and she always used to tell this story and it was like her go to story almost and it and it just it just cracked me up. I was like this is typical primary school funny story so my mum was a TA I've got your permission to talk about her mum. Her mum was Ruth, OK?

1:04:38 And I was thinking we might call this section of roof rambles something like that. We're gonna come of it. But I feel, I feel like. I feel like Ruby's gonna be a bit of a staple for some stories in the future. OK. OK. All right, OK, so here we go. Mum was at A for a long time. She probably got a lot of these stories, not from me, but my mum used to be at A and I always remember she had a funny story when she was an RE lesson at primary school. She worked out and they were all drawing pictures of Jesus. My mum was wandering around the classroom helping the children and she peers over the shoulder of 1 girl who drawn a load of triangles on her page. Mum asked why she'd drawn that as her picture for Jesus and the poor girl looked up devastated and said, oh I thought you said draw pictures of cheeses.

1:05:25 She spent ages Ohh sat there drawing these detailed pictures of of blocks of cheese. Kids just don't question stuff. They I was. I was that kid. That's what I heard. So crack on. Don't question the teacher. Well, we just spent an hour talking about Jesus and now she wants me to draw cheeses. Alright, fine. That's the kids do that, don't they, though? That's really common. I can't think of any examples, but that's definitely happened where I'm like, how have you get the hint from the lesson we're doing? What this task was supposed to be massively do lessons subtraction and they start adding all the numbers. Oh, we have just spent 20 minutes doing subtraction together. Could you maybe. Yeah, maybe do that.

1:06:05 I. Thought one. This happened to me last year when I was doing an English writing lesson where I gave the children like a story opener. They had a few of them, had to pick one and then like carry it on of their own imagination got to the end of this lesson. They spent like 40 minutes writing and it was independent. So I was very much just I didn't get involved because if you start walking around I find. Independent writing. If you start walking around like looking over their shoulders, they ask you for help. And when it's got to be independent, you want to take away that crutch. So I just sort of take myself away from the side. And at the end of it, I went over and this one child, all they had done for the whole lesson was copy the entire story over. It was like an A4 page.

1:06:46 It was a really long story opener. They just copied into their book. And they thought the task was to like, just pick one they like and copy it in their book. And I was like, what do you think we're doing? Like what? How has nothing clocked in your brain that we're not doing that? That's not what you're not learning anything from that. But they just thought that was the task. Ohh dear ohh my gosh. Maybe they've been to a toxic school beforehand who fudges all their writing data and just gets kids to copy things down. You know, Yeah. Ohh training some people there. Ohh sorry. Future one. That's a future episode, isn't it? Anyway, another one from Bruce. So Ruth gave us this one and then she was told about it and she was. I've got some more. So here's another one from Roof that really cracked me up. So second story, so got another message.

1:07:28 My mum's been sending me more stories now. Told her about. I've told you about the other one. This one really cracked me up. This one really cracked me up, she said. One girl came into her class after arguing with her sister at the weekend, and she wrote in her weekend news, which is what they do every week. They're coming and write about what happens. She wrote in her weekend news about how ugly her sister was and how she's so glad she's not anything like her. Turns out they're identical twins. God's sake. That's really funny because she know she nobody writing down. She's so ugly and I really hate that. I'm glad I don't have her hair because I don't look anything like her. That's just when, mate, I should swing. You're basically writing this to a mirror. Ohh.

1:08:15 Absolutely. Crack me up. So I'm hoping, you know in the future, Ruth Rambles might repair Roof. You're listening. Thank you so much. I hope you don't mind me calling it rambles. It's just a bit of alliteration first thing that came into my mind. OK. But thank you for those actually shared stories. Yeah. Everything's gonna have a purpose, Aiden. It's got a purpose. But yeah, I love that. And the fact that it was from someone whose story it wasn't just shows how that is. They're the kind of stories, teachers. If you ever meet a teacher, there will always have a go to stories. That person, what's their go to? Story and we need more Dylan. Where can everyone write? 2 that's give the actual social We've got about 16 different social address the joke businesses So listen, we got new viewers. We've got new viewers. I can read, repeat all my listeners. You always forget the listeners.

1:08:59 You you just listen to some kind of YouTube video, don't you? Look at my new shoes. I'm not gonna describe to anyone. I view of my ears OK, I I'm including everyone in the world viewers OK, well anyway the best way to get hold of us is through DMS on Instagram or just find us on Instagram. So teach sleep repeat podcast. That is our handle on Instagram and therefore threats. If anyone is still on threats. Bit of a quick one there. We wanna spread through a bit. Kind of died off very quickly. Uh, we are on X, formerly known as Twitter's TSR podcast. God, that sounds. And no, absolutely. What an. Idiot. Anyway, can we just cut? We'll just call it Twitter. We're just. I'm never going next. OK, Twitter. Twitter. e-mail us.

1:09:41 Hello. Hello. That's not that e-mail address. Don't e-mail us that teach state repeat pod@gmail.com. But guys, honestly best way to get in touch is on Instagram. And yeah, if you have a funny story or a teachers told you a story before that made you laugh, it's their go to one. Let us know and we will pack future episodes with stories like. This last week we did say that we would make a like a Google Form or something for you to submit. But obviously that being a tiny little job, we haven't done it. So we'll do it next time, we'll do it another time, we'll get it done. So maybe next week. Yeah, it's it's underneath. It's honest To Do List underneath his glasses. Sorry, he's got 3 glasses here that I've just left for the last two weeks.

1:10:22 What about this one? At some point, don't worry about it. Anyway, should we? Should we stop? Hated. Because I think I'm starting to get my line of sweat underneath my man. Yep, let's finish. Take one. Oh no, I wasn't recording any audio. That's really good one. Do that. Ohh. Where do you come up with your your jokes pal? Bloody. Money. Ohh. Anyway, let's, let's, let's wrap people. Wanna go with the holidays, Hayden? Yeah, maybe they don't. Maybe they wanna listen to us because you know, like us, they get bored and this is helping them. Maybe this is ruining their holidays. As well. OK, bye everyone. Put this on.