Time for a rant…
Jeez. I feel like a rant coming on.
You know what I hate about teaching? That, unlike the real world, some of those who work within it are not held accountable enough for some of the things that they do or how they behave. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if you’re in it for the pay, the holidays or the fact you think the job can be done between 9 and 4 – GET OUT and do something else. Education is about learning, not passing exams. Of course, that is important, but to teach to pass exams or to get good stats really gets my goat. Good teachers are those who want to pass on knowledge about their subject, to share a passion or to help shape young minds. Hell, how about just liking working with kids. And by the way, that means the challenging ones too. It is a job, but it shouldn’t be just a job. In a perfect world, all our pupils would be well behaved sponges who soak up knowledge. But, that is not a real world and how boring it would be. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be nice once in a while, but be realistic. We have to remember that in terms of time, we see pupils for only a small part of their day and let’s face it, to many, it’s not the most important part. There are some great teachers out there. There are also some that are less so. The same goes for pupils. However, they have an excuse in a way. Like many jobs, the stress levels can be high, the paperwork too laborious and the amount of time given to do things, too little. But, that’s the job. It doesn’t matter how much a pupil has hacked you off, it’s about unconditional positive regard. It’s about giving as many chances as needed for them to be turned around. It’s about being an adult. Sounds perfect, eh? I wish.
