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.

After a long day at school, teachers will often find their last class of the day is not engaged in learning or paying any attention at all. Rather than wiping out a video, connect the learning to the real world. 

We have all heard children say, “When am I ever going to use this?” As part of the lesson, answering this question will get the children thinking about the topic and help them when they are older.

Giving the classroom a say by providing them with options on how they would like to tackle a task, do they want to do it solo or prefer pair or group work.  Would they like to present their work at the end?  This gives the class a sense of ownership of the lesson.

Sometimes even a slight break from a lesson can help engagement.  Humour within a class can lighten the mood and make your lesson topic more fun. 

Never be afraid to be yourself. Build a rapport with the class, and the class is more likely to engage with you.

Tired of whizzing past school after school with their uninspiring, bog-standard toilets? That’s not as common today as it was back in the day, because plenty of schools create fresh, fun and uplifting designs for toilets! Headteacher of Woodville Primary School, Mrs Sophie Tanner explains:

“As part of the school’s continuing commitment to providing the best possible toilets for our children, we have recently completed a toilet refurbishment. The works have not only given the entire school community much-needed facelift but will also provide fresh learning opportunities.”

Mrs Tanner continues “Before, during and after works our pupils were engaged in several activities which helped them to understand why these changes are being made. The activities included designing new cubicles, investigating materials used in both construction processes as well as hygiene areas. This has really engaged all pupils involved including those who are not normally interested in Science subjects at this stage.”

As you can see this is a great way to get kids involved and create a fun design, but what if you want a professional to help? You of course need a school toilet refurbishment that’s created with meticulous attention to detail, in line with your school’s values!

When restricted funds must be spent, it’s critical to get value for money. Schools often focus on improving pupils’ restrooms when they have little cash. There are a number of reasons why upgrading school toilets is a good idea. The first is that a toilet block may be completely renovated without spending a fortune. A wider variety of contemporary, vibrant colours can breathe new life into an old toilet block. This may make the area where youngsters sit more pleasant rather than the dark restrooms of yesteryear!

Indirect lighting, which has a mood-enhancing effect, may also be installed. The next consideration is the fact that young people are more likely to feel inhibited about using toilet blocks which were built during Victorian times – even those with recent renovations! The public toilets at school concerts and sports events will also be appreciated as well as those for staff and cleaners too. Even if you do not have money available for additional extras such as soap dispensers and paper towel holders, replacing old cubicles can work wonders. Newer models require less maintenance and should include an accessible coat hook and water-resistant soap dish so pupils and staff do not linger longer than necessary. You may also want to give thought to installing new hand dryers which would probably be more cost-effective.

COVID Safety in mind

So many councils up and down the country have created programmes to refurbish toilets in schools, leisure centres and even police stations.

The pledge means that school toilets are replaced by new designs. The changes will also see water-efficient urinals being introduced into public lavatories and schools, whilst special care should be taken for cleaning toilet blocks, yet they should be large enough to facilitate social distancing with excellent handwashing facilities.

If your dream is to go abroad and teach English, but you do not have any teaching qualifications, a TEFL is a quick and easy way to get the necessary certification. There are a couple quick options available.

TEFL Options

1. Find a four-week TEFL intensive course either in the country location you wish to teach in, or in your country of origin.
2. Take a part-time, 11-week TEFL course.

You can apply for and interview for jobs either before, during or after completion of your TEFL. There are several ways to accomplish your TEFL certification and make your dream a reality, it just takes a bit of research and planning to figure out what will be best for you. You should decide on the country/countries that you would wish to teach in and then start looking for job opportunities and registering for a good quality, trusted TEFL course either in person or online.