Welcome to Teaching - The highest highs and the lowest lows

When I first began teaching 10 years ago, people used to ask me (at parties??, I was young then …), ‘what’s it like being a teacher?’

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What’s teaching like?

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I could have said…

“Every day is so different!”

“So much work … marking, resourcing, planning, assessing – it’s never ending!”

“Absolutely magical, days packed with creativity and curiosity.”

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What I actually told people was that teaching comes with the highest highs but also the lowest lows.

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The best moments are magical.

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Delivering a top notch lesson … imagine all the lesson God’s are in your favour here – nobody asks ‘what are we supposed to be doing?’ after you’ve already explained it three (thousand) times, you’ve actually trimmed all the sheets in advance so they do in fact fit into the books without any ‘flappy corners’, maybe the word ‘outstanding’ is even in the air? Side note - if Ofsted are reading this: ALL my lessons are like this.

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Next, picture this: every afternoon for the last month you have led thirty little 5 year olds into the hall and spent hour upon hour rehearsing for the end of year performance. You’ve written lines, devised actions to songs, made seating plans, sent out costume letters, coordinated music … and this isn’t even the half of it. Now the big day has arrived. Those thirty little faces beam with pride and those clammy hands wave excitedly and repeatedly to their parents. In fact, they’re so busy beaming and waving that they forget where to sit, or to sit down at all. They sing the quietest they’ve every sung. They recite their lines the quickest they’ve ever spoken. And it’s truly the best thing ever. Applause, joy, pride, relief, happiness. They are SO pleased with themselves. You are so proud of them.

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And maybe the most important magic of all – a learning breakthrough. You’ve worked all year with Jimmy and he just hasn’t got it. You’ve tried it all. Jimmy has tried it all. It’s been tough, he’s been frustrated. Then one day – it just clicks. He's ecstatic. All that work that he's put into it, has paid off. It was all so freaking worth it.

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See – magic.

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But you know what’s coming … the lows.

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Working all night long, all weekend long – being completely exhausted. Flunking a lesson observation. Behaviour challenges. Difficult conversations with parents. Changes. All the changes. Criticism. Crying in your teacher cupboard (this is a thing, right?)

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The lows hurt. The highs soar. Why does it have to be this way? Because teaching is personal. Teachers put their whole selves into teaching. So when it goes well, your teacher heart feels happy. YOU did something amazing. And when it isn’t going well, that’s personal too. It feels like YOU have failed. Teachers care. They care about doing the best job they possibly can. They care about children. They care about families. They care about futures.

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So, can you take the highs without the lows? If we took our hearts out of teaching, maybe the dips would be dulled but wouldn’t that soften the peaks too? Could we get through the rough without the moments of sheer joy? I think I know what most teachers would say …?