If you’ve been a teacher in the past or are currently a teacher here in the UK, you’ve probably heard questions or statements like:

• “What’s your typical day like?”
• “Don’t you have any time off at weekends?”
• “I couldn’t do what you do – I’d never have the patience.”
• “It must be great for getting your summer holidays off.”             

So maybe it’s time we touched on some of the answers to the above, and painted a picture of what life’s like to really be a teacher. Well, firstly, no two days are ever the same. You’ll probably hear this with many people in all aspects of work, from plumbers to lawyers, hairdressers, and office workers, but in teaching, this is certainly the case — we can assure you! Below are some of the aspects many people aren’t familiar with, but you should be if you’re contemplating becoming a teacher.

You don’t leave when lessons end

Firstly, the lessons do not end at 3.30pm sharp. We’re here till about half-past four, maybe longer if a child is in detention or needs to be spoken to about their progress. Then you have planning time, where you have to plan for the next day’s lessons so everything is covered and you don’t get stuck mid-lesson with no idea what to teach next! Then there will be times where you’ll need to stay late because of a school event such as sports day or a school play, so already we’re talking another three hours on top of what’s expected — which doesn’t sound like much but can quickly add up if it happens several times a week.

A simple “good morning” or “hi, how are you?” can make a teacher’s day

One thing that surprised me was that you can’t be friends with your students. You will need to maintain a professional distance, otherwise, it makes it harder to discipline them if they know you on first-name terms or have other associations outside of school. When you’re a supply teacher in a school it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed. You have places, buildings, names, and processes to learn, so a simple ‘good morning’ goes a long way. There can be days that do not feel friendly, fun, and rewarding, but we all do our best to remain as upbeat as possible. This also ties in with our next point…

Teachers just don’t get to have bad days

There are days in education where you have good lessons, bad lessons, too much marking, and not enough time to plan. We all struggle with work-life balance, but when you’re constantly surrounded by children there’s a lot of emotional pressure that accumulates. Let’s say you’re contemplating teaching jobs Cambridge, some students are lovely, friendly, and eager to learn; others are apathetic or even rude. Throw into the mix an imperfect system that isn’t always conducive to learning and you’ve got a formula for low morale. This is why it’s important to maintain perspective – certain things won’t seem so important after six months on the job!

A little bit of ‘me’ time goes a long way

It can be tough maintaining your mental and physical health. When you’re in the classroom, your workload is immense. However, spending an hour or two doing something relaxing outside of work can make a huge difference to how you feel – it doesn’t have to be anything major. For example, if I’ve had a bad day with student discipline or management issues I might play Mario Kart on my Nintendo Switch for 10 minutes when I get home at night! This helps me relax and puts any problems into perspective so they don’t seem quite as serious.

So there you go, these are just a few insights to share with you to say it’s not all positive. That said, on the whole being a teacher is amazing! I have to pinch myself sometimes that I have the best job in the world.