Work Life Balance

The work/Life balance is a constant discussion topic in staffrooms around the country but it does seem to be almost the Holy Grail of teaching..ie, it doesn't exist! You never as a committed teacher have the luxury of saying you are up to date! You have never finished marking, researching, planning, reading, reinventing the wheel....Most of the time it's an amazing job but sometimes the price is too high and you have to say that forbidden word 'NO'! The fact that you spend hours on twitter learning new skills to pass on, finding new research to improve the standard of your teaching proves you want the best for those you teach.
This week several thing made me stop and think: sad news, the anniversary of what would have been my eldest son's birthday & the amazing kindness of a group of my year tens who said, 'Are you ok madam, we are a bit worried about you, you know you can always come and talk to us don't you?!' The role reversal of pupils caring about teachers brought tears to my eyes. When I tried to say I was just tired they immediately said, 'well stop doing so much and say no' maybe, just maybe they are right!

It's all worth it when....

You have had another manic day, wearing enough different hats to open a market stall, head completely spinning and a yr 11 gives you a thank you card that ends with the words 'thank you for helping me be the best I can be!' Yes it's worth it.

Teachers as Multi taskers

You know the old joke, 'Those who can, do - and those who can't, teach...' well it's so not true! Those who can do several things at once and keep a range of key ideas in their head at all times ...can be teachers. It's not just a case of walking into a classroom and teaching, it's never having the luxury to think of one thing at a time! Today has ranged from booking buses and first aid kits to researching current Ofsted Framework with a bit of coaching thrown in for good measure. (Oh and teaching classes of course)
Teaching is hard work but never boring!

Sunday Evening

Well it's Sunday evening and I've got that back to school feeling after half term. You know the one...very unsettling. I've used the photo of Vicky 'unable to attend' to remind myself why I do this! She was a young girl in Uganda who stood at the barbed wire fence whilst we taught samba to the kids inside the school - no money - no education simple as that! So I'm thinking of my kids tomorrow and how lucky they are but don't realise it. Time to stop worrying and start enjoying teaching again!