As another year of Secret Teacher blogs draws to a close, we celebrate some of our favourites from 2017. From behind-the-scenes thoughts on some of the really big issues in teaching to surprising and emotive stories, there’s been plenty to spark discussion and debate.
We’d love to hear your personal favourites, too. Let us know in the comments, via Twitter (@GuardianTeach) or on Facebook which ones struck a chord with you. And if you’d like to be a Secret Teacher in the new year, get in touch.
Class, I wish I’d told you the truth about my mental health
We get a lot of pitches for articles about teacher wellbeing – or more accurately, the crisis in teacher wellbeing. This insightful blog came from a teacher who had to leave the profession due to anxiety and depression, but didn’t feel able to tell their students the real reason for their departure. They wrote the speech they wish they’d given, and reflected on how the stigma that still surrounds mental health prevents many from being honest about what’s going on behind the scenes. In hiding the truth from their class, this teacher believed they may have passed up on perhaps the most “teachable moment” of all.
Buying supplies my school can’t afford costs me a fortune
“When I was a young and enthusiastic student I spent a cool amount on stationery and ink in order to make worksheets in many colours, and provided Post-it notes and highlighters to make my lessons engaging and interesting. Naively, I thought that when I became employed as a real member of staff, I would stop spending so much of my own money on my job”. Not so, according to this Secret Teacher – and judging by the comments below the article, they were not alone in paying out of their own pocket for school equipment and supplies.
My school is an echo chamber for left-wing leftwing views
In a time of increasingly polarised politics, teachers must be mindful about how they engage students in discussions on controversial topics such as Brexit or elections. Our most-read Secret Teacher of the year, which we published following this year’s general election, felt that views that fall outside the accepted liberal-left spectrum were getting short shrift in their school. “In schools like mine, where students are already immersed in political uniformity, we do them no favours by merely presenting different views,” they argued. “What we should do is offer compelling counter-narratives, so that students can appreciate why people might reasonably hold different political views from their own, regardless of differences in background.”
Multi-academy trusts want machines not mentors
“Ask anyone about their favourite teacher and they will, more often than not, describe the rogue teacher – the one who seemed to tear up the rulebook and teach the way that best suited them.” So began this Secret Teacher’s account of training they and their colleagues received telling them to “stick to the script”. Our writer lamented that they’d seen sales strategies and vernacular creeping into the profession, alongside a desire to reduce errors by ensuring all teachers are singing from the same hymn sheet. They worried about what would happen to the quality of teaching when personality is taken out of the equation. This timely blogOur blogger’s comments ended up inspiring a follow-up feature in Guardian Education.
I thought supply would be hell, but it’s a joy
In response to one of our top picks for 2016 about the challenges of supply teaching, this piece made a case for the other side of the coin: how much they enjoyed working as supply. Clearly there are challenges, but there’s also plenty about the role to love, they argued – from the freedom to say no to schools that have treated them poorly to the reduction in workload and, of course, the fact that they don’t have to stay after-hours. “Supply means that I still get to spend my days with the funniest, most creative, most interesting people on Earth, and get paid for it. I still get to be a person who makes a difference to those people, that day. And I always get to go home. On time.” An enjoyable, uplifting read.
I’m working full time but struggling to make ends meet
With teaching salaries falling in value in contrast to other OECD countries, life is becoming increasingly difficult for some teachers, particularly in the face of rising house prices. In an important blog post highlighting difficulties in the run up to Christmas – and where help can be found for those who need it that there is help on offer – one teacher from London told us how they could barely afford to do their job any more. “The impact on me and my children is considerable. I want to settle in the area and put down roots … Living day to day, pay cheque to pay cheque, has also had implications for my mental health. I don’t sleep well. I think about money all the time and there are days when the thought of getting out of bed seems impossible. I know that one bill arriving could have disastrous consequences.”
When my partner died, it was teaching that saved me
In a year that’s been dominated by stories of the difficulties associated with the teaching profession, from a lack of support from leadership to behavioural challenges, this article was a welcome reminder that schools can be supportive and caring cultures – and safe spaces for those with challenges in their personal lives. “At the end of the summer break, my partner passed away. It was described as a ‘sudden and unexpected’ death. Beyond the overwhelming grief, I found myself facing a future so completely different from the one we had hoped and prepared for. Just a week and a half later, I returned to school for the start of term … ”
My school won’t let students fail – so how will they learn?
This was a topic that prompted lively and interesting debate in the comments section. Many teachers will have held extra classes or revision sessions for their students at one time or another. But what happens when it’s expected for all age groups, throughout term time and holidays, and teachers have no choice in the matter? In this particular school, the students knew they’d be spoon-fed the answers again and again, so didn’t pay attention in class. Our writer felt that it wasn’t learning their school was really focused on, but targets. And this, they said, didn’t do anyone any favours: “If we don’t provide students with a chance to fail, they have no chance to grow.”
Funding cuts leave us unable to help children with SEN at school
It’s been a year of funding woes for schools. But what does this mean for those children who need extra support? This Secret Teacher told of how they were given responsibility for a group of children with special educational needs (SEN), despite having no previous experience or knowledge of how to help them. To make matters worse, the school didn’t have enough money to provide the consistent specialist support the students – and teacher – needed. “I muddled along, attempting to include every child in my lessons. But I still didn’t understand their needs. Alongside this came the usual frets that come with teaching the mainstream curriculum and monitoring the class’s progress as a whole. I felt like I was failing everyone.”
I love my job, but why does it feel like I’m the only one?
Here’s a sentiment we don’t hear very often: “When we go to the pub on a Friday night, we can’t stop talking about how great our school is.” The quality of school leadership is pivotal to what it means to be a teacher – as this cheering article deftly illustrates. Having worked in two very different settings with very different philosophies, our writer reflected on how working in a school where child wellbeing and overall progress (rather than test results) were at the heart of what they did had renewed their love for the profession. Well worth a read.
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