The (Passionately) Boring Teacher

It was a Thursday lunchtime (week B) and once again I sat in the office, staring at my lunch and feeling more than a little bit sick. The clock ticked closer to 1:35 and I tried to steel myself for 75 minutes of what I could only describe as mental acrobatics with year 8 French. I had planned a series of challenges with an answer key. That way the lovely ladies at the back could crack on while I tried to cajole John into sitting down, Joanna into being quiet and I could try to make sure Jill stayed outside while I waited for SLT to pick her up. Jack might even write the date if he was in a good mood and I asked nicely enough. Hopefully I’d be able to keep them quiet enough to do the register. I took a deep breath, put on my ‘teacher face’ and quietly said “It’s only 75 minutes a fortnight”, before stepping out into the corridor. Four years later and the picture is slightly different. Today I sat at my desk, eating my lunch and looking at the desks which had been filled with my yea...

Over the last week, many teachers (myself included) have taken to their keyboards to express their objection to the TES’s policy of allowing teachers to charge for their resources. Unfortunately, this advert has riled me yet again. Term 6 has the potential to be a difficult time in many schools; within a few weeks of term starting most assessments and exams are over. Not only this, but teachers and pupils are tired, everyone is quietly (or not so quietly) counting down to six weeks of rest, and lessons are often disrupted by trips and other events. All of these factors increase the risk of term 6 essentially becoming a throwaway: six weeks of “exciting” lessons which serve as fillers before the holiday. The issue with this approach is that it sends a very clear message to pupils: lessons should only be challenging if they are leading up to an assessment. As result, once assessments are over, pupils are free to “enjoy” their lessons once again with easy topics or time fillers...

My mother’s attempts to get me involved in a variety of after school activities and clubs as a child taught me two important lessons about myself: I’m not a social butterfly and I am certainly not a natural team player. However, I have also learned that, despite the fact that I spend five hours of every day isolated from my peers and acting as a benevolent dictator in my classroom, teaching is a team sport. I learned this largely through mentors and other colleagues who provided me with schemes of work, lesson plans or just someone to bounce around ideas with. However, in evenings of creative despair, the internet also regularly came to the rescue. Unfortunately, the website which was a lifesaver and an inspiration for much of my career, the TES, has started allowing teachers to charge for their resources. This is a move which I passionately disagree with for three main reasons: I’ve always been of the opinion that a lot of teaching is about rehashing lessons which someo...