Teacher Struggles

Peer Pressure: the force breaking of the camel's back.

Peer pressure is a common problem; a serious problem and one that needs dealing with. 

From choosing an activity in the classroom to stupid internet crazes such as this 'necknomination'; peer pressure has and can cost lives. 

At a young age something like peer pressure can make or break a child: an inevitable fact of growing up and sometimes a very valuable lesson. But when twenty-somethings are still giving into this pressure, a problem is present. 

How are you not old enough to have your own mind?

How is putting yourself in danger for the sake of a few facebook likes 'cool'?

Why is more not being done to tackle this?

As adults we should know better, how can we expect children to follow what we preach if we are bowing to the same condemnation? 

As a teacher, an educator and a guardian of young people I beg you: stop this public exhibition of bad influence.

Stand up to the bullies.

Today I went to a farm.

Learning cannot be confined to the classroom: children learn their lessons in every single thing they do. School trips are so essential in the curriculum, even Ofsted say so:

"Such hands-on activities led to improved outcomes for pupils and students, including better achievement, standards, motivation, personal development and behaviour. The survey also found examples of the positive effects of learning outside the classroom on young people who were hard to motivate." -Ofsted Learning outside the classroom October 2008.

The sad reality is, the additional paperwork these trips cost teachers. Risk assessments, prior visits, permission slips, health and safety, budget cuts...the list goes on. 

This valuable learning experience can add a great deal to ANY teacher's workload; not a problem for a valued and well-loved teacher...but in today's increasing criminalisation of the teaching profession, such charities of their personal time, become more laboured for teachers. 

Paperwork.

So much paperwork.

I'm not talking about book marking or lesson planning: it's everything on top!!

When did teaching stop being about delivering lessons to the best of your ability, but instead jumping through hoops and creating unnecessary damage to the environment through PAPERWORK!

Today I was faced with a hysterical 5 year old:

"Miss! I accidentally used my spoon for my peas and NOW I have nothing to eat my pudding with!!"

Later, as us teachers do, we had a chuckle at the little girl's predicament and wistfully looked back on our own childhood problems. 

But why should we laugh at the innocence of youth?

These children are embarking on such an exciting time of their lives: friendships to make and break with no risk of true heartache, the surprise or dismay at what may be packed in their lunch-box...not if they can afford the next food shop. Who are we to take away their innocence and tell them to grow up a bit?

If I new then what I know now, I would scream and stamp my little 5 year old feet and refuse Peter-Pan style, to ever grow up. I would tell my teacher, as many times as I can in the day, that my little finger IS still hurting even though the grown ups can't see anything there; and most definitely I would hit the end of the world if I had no dinner tool to eat my chocolate sponge pudding with! Because THAT is what matters. 

To those who scorn at the children of today, forcing them to leave their childhoods too soon, demanding they stand up straight and enter the real world. NO. Leave them to their imaginations, leave them to their over-estimated traumas.

Much too soon they will realise that having no clean spoon is not the worst thing to happen to them that day; just around the corner is heartache, depression, unemployment and adulthood. It isn't fun. 

That's right there is a number sign up there being used for what it was designed for!

Teachers: the planners of your future lessons. 

When was the last time that you said to yourself: "Hey, I just learnt something completely new!" My job is to give that moment to children (at least) every twenty minutes of each day, 5 days a week, 8 weeks a term, 6 terms a year.... that's 5040 new things for each child a year!

As well as this, modern teachers also undergo the same amount, if not more, pressure, as any businessman or lawyer: targets to meet, paperwork to complete, meetings to attend...tiny humans to inspire.

It both makes me angry and sad when the same old argument against teachers come up: "they never do any work!"; "what sort of job is 7 hours a day with 6 week holidays?"...blah blah blah!

Anger: of course any teacher would be furious at this, the amount of times our butts have been worked off looking after the worlds children we should all be size zero models! Wiping noses, seeing children through puberty, marking books, filling form, target setting, target hitting, social care meetings, report writing, IEP planning, SEN care, playground refereeing...oh yeah and that lesson planning, teaching thing we do to! By the time any of our 'unnecessary' holidays roll around, we are ready to drop...for about 2 days before getting back up and carrying on with the catch up we need to do. 

But sadness, sadness that people feel the need to point the finger, to act so jealously toward the teaching profession. A bunch of professionals that have gone into a truly inspirational career because that is what they love to do...how many people can say they truly LOVE their job?