I guess that’s the thought going through a lot of parents’ minds right now, whether they’re teachers or not. My parents were both teachers and I can tell you right now that it wasn’t always an easy combination. I always really wanted to be their child, rather than their student. Perhaps that’s the most important […]
Tag: #teachingdisasters
Teaching Context: A How To Guide (Plus, How NOT To…)
Teaching context can be a right regular pain in the arse. We, as English teachers, have to do it, but I’m sure it’s something we all do with caution, knowing that there’s every chance we’ll get back essays that (for some unknown reason) start with a biography of the writer and a summary of the […]
Some Days In Teaching Are Sh*t, But Teaching Is Definitely NOT.
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 […]
If You See Behaviour Management As a Battle Ground, You May Win The Battle But You’ve Already Lost The War
Behaviour Management: Is There A Way To Practically Apply The Principles of Respect and Relationship? In writing my last blog post, I realised that respect and relationship as foundations for behaviour management might sound like some sort of impractical pixie dust solution for helping lessons to fly. I really don’t think that they are. They’re […]
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 […]
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 […]
Our Attitude Is Everything.
We’ve all faced difficult students. It was only last Friday that I dealt with one of the most difficult behaviour challenges of my career, facing a non-compliant, defiant, aggressive student. And yet, I still think that it is fair to say that it is our attitude which determines how effective our teaching is. We could […]
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 […]
First Day Backitis…
It doesn’t matter how much one enjoys teaching, the first day back is a real grind. Many of us find that we’re there, wide awake, at 3am thinking about all of the jobs waiting for us at our desks or in our classrooms. Even once we’re at school, it isn’t always plain sailing. Take today, […]