Some days in teaching are sh*t, aren’t they? They really are.

There are times when you come home, barely able to drive safely or hold an entire sentence together.

Days when your year nines have run rings around you, break duty caused endless admin after there was an ‘incident’, multiple meetings drag on and achieve nothing…

Friday was a day like that for me and, quite easily, I could dwell.

But I won’t, and let me say why.

I love teaching. There are bad days and there are days when I don’t really feel like it, but I genuinely do love it. For some of our students, we are the most consistent, caring, trustworthy people in their lives. For others, we are the difference between the career they want and a lifetime of drudgery in a job they despise. In the most extreme cases, we are a lifeline – the one who means there genuinely is a future for a young person.

We can make a difference. That’s precious.

Even on Friday, exhausted after five lessons in a row, there were moments that reminded me that it’s worthwhile:

• My year sevens, as an entire class, came in beaming and desperate to do their writing challenge. They were so excited – goodness knows why!
• My lunchtime intervention session built relationships between me and some of the students in a tricky year eleven class, which meant that my weekly lesson with them last thing today went amazingly well (in comparison to last week!).
• My colleagues, staying behind after school to “sort a few bits out” ready for our faculty review this week, came and checked on me, making me feel so cared for.

I’m sure there would be others if I thought harder!

Teaching is full of little moments that are special, that build relationship, that make us realise how wonderful it is to be involved in a child’s life and help them become an adult, not just an adult but the best adult version of themselves.

Even days like Friday can’t take that away.