Totally Schooled (2001-2007)

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I expected the kids to behave like kids.

When I was doing a teacher training course one of the lecturers said: "If you ever feel as if you're losing control of the classroom, just tell yourself: they're only kids." 

It got an interesting response - some trainees took it to heart, almost using it as a mantra. Other people thought it was a bit glib - because 'only kids' can do some rotten things. 

But I was expecting kids to behave like kids. I was expecting confrontation, bad behaviour, aggression and crap excuses for not doing homework. 

I could still remember what the kids had been like when I was going to school. I saw some of them reduce  staff members to tears. 

Some of it was spur of the moment insults or disobedience - but sometimes it was planned and organised. 

Kids would shake a coke can right the way through break-time to make sure that it made as much mess as possible at the start of a lesson or they'd tell everybody to start laughing at a specific time just to freak the teacher out. I thought I had some idea about what the kids could throw at me.

I also remembered how crappy school had been for me when I was a kid. I was well aware that some kids see school as an escape from whatever's going on at home. I tried to keep that in mind. 

 

Then I met the staff. None of the lecturers on the teacher training course thought to tell us about how badly some teachers behave.

Bullying. Name calling. Passing around confidential pupil information 'for a laugh'. Creating coursework for kids who hardly ever turned up for school (because senior management wanted 100% exam entry). Spreading gossip about staff on school trips. Bitching about how much some colleagues were getting paid. Taking up smoking just so they could sit in the same Staff Room as the Head Teacher. Never mind your lungs, think of your career!

I stayed out of staff rooms as much as I could. Whispers started about why I was always in my classroom - did I think I was too good to mix with them? The IT people checked my internet history to see if I was doing something dodgy on the school computers at lunch-time*.

I suppose a lot of it was my own fault. I could have made an effort to be more sociable but I didn't have a lot of confidence in my ability to teach so I decided to spend any spare time marking books or trying to sort out resources. The teaching unions tried to bring in some 'working time directives' which meant we were only allowed to do so much photocopying per week - if we needed more we had to put a written request in to the school office. It made everything more complicated, so I just kept doing all of my photocopying and preparation during my breaks. 

Other staff thought I was an idiot - the office staff were paid to support us and I was wasting my time standing at the photocopier when somebody else should be doing it. 

I'd applied for promoted posts and management jobs when I'd worked in local Radio and I'd hated it. I couldn't cope with extra responsibilities and office politics. I'd gotten bogged down by the gossip and the constant pushing and shoving of ambitious people. It was bloody exhausting. So I tried to do things differently when I started working in a school.

A member of my department advised me to spend more of my free time in the staff room because it would help when I wanted a promotion. Instead of doing my own photocopying or marking books at lunchtime I should be pushing for promotion and advancement at every opportunity! Some of the deputy heads were only 26 or 27!!! I was a freak for just wanting to teach.

I got reprimanded for leaving school within fifteen minutes of the last bell because 'most staff like to stay late to get their marking and planning done'. For the sake of appearances I started staying on at school and found out that a lot of people were sitting in the staff room organising their social lives, bitching about each other or slagging off kids. Some of them went on and on about how much they hated their jobs - but seemed to find it difficult to go home.

This isn't a rant about all teachers - I have huge respect for anybody who makes a go of it and wants to make a difference. Apart from the actual teaching there's so much other stuff to do - and the goal-posts get moved every time there's a change of Education Secretary.

I certainly couldn't cope with teaching and the stress made me seriously ill. Dealing with aggressive or disobedient kids is one thing - finding that you have no support from the 'grown ups' is thoroughly depressing. Maybe spending so much time with kids means that some teachers end up just like them.

 *'Inappropriate use of school computers' seemed to be quite a common problem. I saw one teacher sacked because he'd been watching porn in the school library and another resigned after admitting to 'personal use' of school equipment during working hours. 

The worst thing I did was watch some trailers for Star Wars Episode 3 and the new series of Doctor Who.

 

Additional reading:

https://www.tes.com/news/teacher-rebuked-porn-during-prep-time

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1914317.ban-threat-teacher-lewd-comments/

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19593756.hebburn-assistant-headteacher-banned-dishonest-marks/

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/3690119.bnp-row-teacher-struck-off/

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/teacher-jailed-for-theft-and-drink-driving-is-struck-90072

 



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