I don’t know about you but observations still fill me with dread, causing those cold sweats and stomach clenches. Like most teachers, I really want to do my job well. I really do. But I do not like to be judged. With a classroom full of teenagers, no matter how difficult or stroppy, I know […]
Teacher Sick Day Guilt
While curled up in bed, headachy, full of flu and fed up, I was overwhelmed by one particular feeling. GUILT. There I was, a cold-filled lurgy monster and having to sleep for a couple of hours after popping downstairs to get a drink, but all I could think was: I should be in school. Bear […]
We All Need To Be/Have Kind Colleagues
Schools are hives of activity. From the roughest, inner city school to the most prestigious, private establishment, expectations of teachers are often crushingly high. Our expectations of ourselves are the starting point but we also experience pressure from: head teachers, management teams, department heads, other teachers, other staff, parents and our students. Teaching is an […]
Round Six: ‘Educated’ (Non-Fiction)
With an entire paper on non-fiction at GCSE, it seems strange that we’re not taking more time to really explore non-fiction texts fully. I don’t mean extracts or brief chapters, I mean whole books. This might be one of the ways in which we can engage those who do not see themselves as readers because […]
If It’s Not Literature, Why Bother?
Whilst most English teachers have a passion for Literature, it is a smaller number of the fleet for whom non-fiction floats their boat. When faced with the wonder that is ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ or the challenges of ‘The Color Purple’, non-fiction can feel like a slog or feel a little dry. So why […]
Because “I’m Quiet, Nobody Really Checks On Me.”
One of the hot topics at my school, based on results and some concerns senior management had last year, has been ‘Quiet Girls’ or ‘The Invisible Girl Phenomenon’. We’ve all had these girls in our classes. The ones who hide in the corner, keep their hands firmly rooted to the table and are the last […]
Everyone Has Bad Days…
In teaching, along with any other profession, we all have our bad days. I can’t help but think that it’d be easier to get through them if we shared our experiences and were more realistic about the demanding nature of our jobs and the way in which it hits the fan. Regularly. I’ll give you […]
Enablement: Creating a Can-Do Attitude
If we’re doing our jobs right, and I’m sure that we’re trying, we should be pushing our students to do things that, put simply, they can’t do. Not that they aren’t capable of it, but that they can’t do it on their own yet. If we aren’t, we’re only repeating what they’ve already done, what […]
Teacher Days – The Definitive Survival Guide
Even teachers with relatively few teacher days under their belts will be able to reel off the necessary ingredients of the average inset. First, allow roughly half an hour of largely mundane and superficial holiday-based chat such as: “Can you believe we’re back already?” “Did you go anywhere?” (Bear in mind that by ‘anywhere’ they […]
Last Night Nightmares – Dealing With Back To Work Blues
With weeks of holiday behind you, so many luscious meals, so much beautiful countryside, so many books and coffees, it’s hardly shocking that any of us are reticent to go back to the grindstone. Why is it that, no matter how much you love the job, the night before going back to school is one […]