A day in the life of a teacher after 6 weeks off

I had an absolutely immense summer holiday as a teacher. For the first time in a while, I was able to switch off completely and enjoy myself. I attended the wedding of one of my oldest friends from University; I visited Majorca for a week; I jetted off to Japan for three absolutely, utterly, unforgettable weeks to explore and adventure around the sights and sounds of a country that I’d wanted to see for as long as I can remember. It was a dream come true.

Much, much more on that trip later.

Summer came to its inevitable end and reality ebbed its way back into my life. You read so many horror stories in the news of what it’s like to be a teacher – of people getting burned out and overworked – but what is it really like? I’ve been back for two weeks now and have slowly settled into my usual routines.

What is it really like for a teacher to return to the classroom after six wonderful weeks off?

A day and a half to plan and panic

There’s always some sort of a panic when you return to work after so much time off, whether it’s to do with the amount that will need doing on your return or some other factors. I think that is part and parcel of any job or career path. In years gone by, I’ve always taken the final week of summer to set aside one full day to get myself ready for going back into the classroom, to plan all of my lessons or to mentally prepare myself.

Getting thirteen weeks off every single year is a superb reward for shaping the minds of the next generation, but taking so much annual leave in one go every summer does make it hard to reconfigure your brain into what it’s like to return to routines. I recognise that having that much time off is an absolute privilege, even if some of it does often involve a lot of extra work that can feel like unpaid overtime. Would I trade in that time off for something else?

Absolutely not. It’s undoubtedly a perk of the job, but I can’t deny how tricky it is to convince yourself to get up at 6am again for the next six or seven weeks.

However, since I was accounted for all summer, absolutely no planning occurred until my first day back. We had a full day of training, meaning that all of my lesson planning took place between half three and half six. I often find that the first week back eats into my free time considerably, but it’s all necessary so that I can get ahead on everything.

It also means falling into bed by about 10pm, which you’d think would be tricky after a fifteen-hour flight home from across the other side of the world. Turns out, tiredness from work will always trump any jet lag.

The next morning, only our year 7s returned, leaving form tutors of all other years free to plan and prepare until break time. This was essential for me, since I’d not had the time nor energy to print my resources out from the night before. Once I’d got setup and welcomed my form group in, I was straight into three lessons, back-to-back: year 11, then year 7, and finally year 13 to end the day. It was very much business as usual.

Then I’d climbed into bed by 10pm once more. The difference this time, though, was that I’d had time for some exercise after work. You find that, the more years you’ve been teaching, the less planning that you have to do. Chances are high that you’ll be able to simply adapt your resources from last year, rather than having to plan something new from scratch.

On that note, here’s a list of 50 things that I wish I’d known as an ECT. Now, I reckon I could write 50 more things I wish I’d known in my first four years of teaching. Let me know if you’d like to see an updated list.

Routines and expectations – with a twist

The rest of the first week involved setting up routines and expectations with a whole new cohort. We had some CPD after school that spoke of ‘wired classrooms’, where learners will enter every classroom and face the same, clear, expectations. There was some very useful advice here: be clear with your learners.

And when I say be clear, I mean to be very clear. You can tell them exactly why you’re about to do something, because it might get them more on board with what’s going on if they know why. Case in point: when encouraging them to turn and talk (you might know this as the middle step of ‘think-pair-share’), we did some deliberate practice of explaining explicitly why and how they’re going to turn and talk. If you’re interested in repeating the same, try this script:

’Okay, guys, you’re about to turn and talk about TOPIC. The reason we do this is to build your confidence before I cold call people at random to share your lovely ideas with the class, since I’m interested in hearing what every single person in this classroom has to say.

So, let’s physically turn our bodies to our neighbours and spend the next 45 seconds discussing TOPIC. Hands up: any questions? No? Okay, great: turn and talk – GO!’

I also enjoyed telling learners this week what to do if they’re stuck, and they really seemed to appreciate the dry humour of this expectation:

’I’m going to be completely frank with you all: I am paid to be here, right now, to help you all. If you are struggling with anything then, please, put your hand up and let me help you, instead of just sitting there struggling and not knowing what is going on. It is literally my job to do this, so – please – let me do my job.’

This approach really appears to resonate with the students in my classes, since that dry humour works well with a number of them. If you’re having to reassert your expectations, why not give this approach a go?

Week Two: how to be a mentor

This year, I’ve taken on the task of being a mentor for an ITT student. I felt really inspired to continue the coaching that I learned from my Apple Coaching course and so, in typical Josh Hamilton fashion, decided to also take on an NPQ in teacher development.

For those not in the know, NPQs can really bolster your potential in career progression. I’ve benefited massively from my mentors and coaches over the years, and love the idea of imparting knowledge into the next generation of teachers myself, so this felt like a superb opportunity. During week two, we had our first mentor meeting, following all of the guidelines of the NiOT, the training provider, and I already feel like I’ve made a difference.

It’s been a good fortnight back. Would I prefer to spend my time travelling around Japan and the rest of the world?

Absolutely, but that won’t pay the bills! I’ve marked some books, planned some great lessons, and delivered (and been a part of) some top quality training. I’m excited to see what this next academic year holds.

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