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 […]
Tag: #mondaymalaise
Why I’m Not Going To Lay Down The Law As The First Lesson Back.
It’s customary, I know, to get students back into the swing of things with a swift run through the rules and classroom expectations. We’ve all seen powerpoint after powerpoint with lists of rules or, for the more open-minded, questions allowing classes to come up with their classroom expectations. I won’t be starting term that way. […]
Back To School Already??
So, it’s the last week of the holidays. I always start getting jittery with so few days to go. I worry that I’ll have forgotten how to teach, I worry about whether this year will be too busy, I worry about whether I’ll be able to work with all of the classes I’ve got. I […]
Teacher Mental Health Is At An All Time Low: The Current Management Focus On It Is, At Best, Patronising And, At Worst, Actively Damaging. Discuss.
At lunch today, with a group of colleagues, we were discussing the impact of teaching on our mental health. Unanimously the verdict came in: devastating. Yet, I think that, without exception, we all love teaching. With so much pressure, regular observations, extreme workloads, is it possible for us to protect ourselves and our mental health […]
Sunday Sadness & Monday Malaise
However much teaching holds your heart, Sunday evening is a real downer, isn’t it? And Monday morning isn’t much better. When in a classroom with the students, door closed and lesson started, I’m in my element but, at home where the pace is slower, there’s a part of me that can’t face finding the time […]