School life? It's all those holidays and short hours!

My "holiday"

When working with young people you invariably expect to support and comfort them when they feel that they are dealing with things that are far out of their understanding and reach. Why is it that when working with young people the adults around you seem to require more energy and understanding than any of the teenagers in your charge?

Teaching is an incredibly stressful job. It is emotionally demanding and physically draining. Only those who have never experienced this humble profession will ever scoff at the apparently long holidays and short hours. Those of us living the profession will talk about the never ending amount of paper work, target setting and curriculum guidelines which ensure that teachers spend more time working for the bureaucrats than they do for their pupils or families. "Holidays" are spent marking, planning, double checking, report writing etc. As for Sunday? Very few teachers will ever agree that Sundays is a day of rest (Least of all those of us working in Catholic schools).

Thank you to all of those pupils out there who surprise you with small tokens of their appreciation. Without you I'd have quit a long time ago.
It is a shame that certain colleagues can not afford to show them same amount of thanks or respect.

One day they'll learn that a smile and word of praise can go a long way....