I Love Teaching (Again)!

Teaching is a job of highs and lows…

…and being honest that’s a comical understatement.

I sometimes think it’s the sleep deprivation that takes you to such emotional extremes!

But really it’s just the nature of the job.

Nonetheless, those small golden moments that keep you feeling like what you’re doing really matters always feel more significant then the struggles that precede them.

And I’ve had an enjoyable day today…

…It was far from perfect, but it was eventful and productive and I was able to teach and even help some students to develop their character.

And thinking about it, most days are like that now.

Although I am now a ‘senior subject lead’ so I’m busier then I ever thought imaginable, that’s just part of the job. And the main bit – the teaching bit – has gone from being the stressful bit to the salvation that keeps me happy every day.

Maybe I seem surprised by this…

…And it’s because I sort of am.

Truthfully, COVID and it’s ghastly impact in UK schools really did a number on me.

I wasn’t truly aware of it at the time, but it kind of sucked the passion out of the job for me: Exams were cancelled taking away a key right of passage for the older year groups; students carried an emotional baggage from the horrible traumas caused by the pandemic; online schooling set students back far enough that their collective self esteem was in tatters; and class bubbles meant that students were confined to the same seat for hours at a time, unable to even turn and talk to a partner for fear of transmission.

Surely then, this was the most important time to have supportive and consistent teachers to lean on for these young people?

Yes. That’s true. But the nature of the game changed for me. And having taught in the same school now for nearly five years (a relatively long time for an inner London school) I probably do represent a fairly permanent construct in some of these kids lives. And I stayed through it all.

But we’re human too.

And I have to admit that the collective trauma took its toll on me.

I came to work on time but left as early as possible. I lost the desire to go the extra mile and I started to question whether this was really a sustainable profession or whether I would fall neatly into the statistic that around 25% of teachers quit within 3 years.

But things are drastically better now…

…and I don’t know when I really started to notice it but I really have that fire in my belly back.

I remember why I chose this path in the first place.

I feel deeply connected to a purpose.

And I love that I’m a teacher.

I was blind to the fact that the pandemic really affected my professional life, and now I’m keenly aware of it. It’s like being able to see in colour again. Or like when you don’t think you’re hungry until you eat.

So this is all to say that I feel blessed…

And that no matter what you may hear, teaching is a beautiful professional full of meaning and wonder and one that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who would seriously consider it.