Are we partially to blame?

/ Mister Bodd

Becoming a teacher was great wasn’t it! Finally a chance to improve the life of every child who walks through your classroom. Teaching takes time and effort but my lord I’m ready to plow everything that I have into it!

Fast forward 2 children later. It’s the first day of half term, I should be relaxing having a well earned lay in… 6:30am: A cuddle on the sofa and Cbeebies is instead how my break starts. I just don’t have the time or energy that I used to have. I still have the ideas and the passion, but my priorities have changed. Lately I’ve started to wonder whether the workload is partially our fault (please hear me out!).

Being a drama graduate, I saw many friends ‘give up’ on acting careers because it was impossible to get a step on the ladder. So many jobs required free work for ‘exposure’.  A chance to put your self in the lime light and in the red at the same time. But the fact that so many are desperate to be noticed, free work was always snapped up.

Is there a similar issue in teaching? New unattached teachers are able to dedicate every waking hour to their career, stay at school as long as needed, work all evening even sacrifice their beloved weekends. Is this what it takes to be noticed and be seen as an outstanding teacher?

Parents who teach can’t give all this time, so how can we compare? How do we shine against those who have unlimited time and resources? I choose to be an active father because I want to watch my children grow up, I want to know that I gave them more than just dna and a roof to live under. Especially as my own father died when I was 18, I know how precious family time is! I leave work with the aim of getting home for dinner (5/half 5), I put one of them to bed. Finally… free time, 9pm

Because some teachers have all the time in the world to spend on their careers, does it dirty the water for those of us who can’t? How can I possibly compete against the teacher who marks every book to within an inch of it’s life. Who finely plans every second of every lesson? Who spends extra money on the resources that are not provided by the school. Just because we can, does it mean that we should?

I’m not saying it is our own fault, but if you’re comparing, it’s obvious which one shines brighter. We should all be trying to lessen workload, but if 50% of staff are managing to keep on top by staying at school till 7 then working till 1am at home, is that helping us all in the long run? Surely, until we all stop dedicating the long evenings and admit to leaders that the workload is not fully achievable, will anyone do anything about it?

“Why haven’t you done it? Shelia is managing to keep on top of it!”

I’m very lucky that my school has recently reviewed it’s feedback policy and it has greatly lightened my ‘marking’, but this is not the same for everyone. Can we all agree to stop making each other look bad?

 

6 thoughts on “Are we partially to blame?”

  2. I was having a similar conversation with my partner. I don’t have children but I choose not to stay late at work unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes I feel the pressure to stay late to finish marking. But you’re right; it’s unachievable while maintaining balance elsewhere in your life and if we don’t collectively start passing that message on to leaders then we are showing them it is achievable.

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  3. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head here. I work two days a week so that I can be a mummy to my two children for the rest of the week because they are my priority and I’m lucky enough to be in a position that I can do that. However, I have never worked more at home in my precious family time than I do at the moment and I really don’t think that’s right but I can’t stay on top of it any other way. And that’s not even marking- I do manage to get the majority of my marking done at school (i have to- my job share needs the books for the rest of the week!) There is just so much other stuff, not least meticulously reinventing the wheel to plan and teach lessons in line with the new new white rose maths.

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  4. Someone who speaks for how I’m feeling right now. It pains me to see that I’m not longer the teacher I used to be with inspiring, exciting and stimulating ideas, who was that teacher who used to work late at school (technically still am as I don’t leave until 6 most nights), work when I got home and weekends.

    I now work part time – Monday to Friday and still feel like I’m working full time, trying to get everything done before leaving on Wednesday. I even answer emails on days off and plan and make resources on my days off when my little one is down for her nap.

    My priorities have changed. I have a child now who needs me. Yet I’m trying my hardest to Also keep up with everything else.

    Thanks for writing this post. I now know I’m not along in me thinking like this x

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