If I read another tweet listing all the work someone has done in their spare time I might scream!
This blog has been brewing for a while. There are a fair few teachers out there on twitter who like to keep up a steady stream of tweets about how much planning, preparation and marking they have done on weekends and in the holidays. You know who you are.
For three very good reasons...PLEASE STOP!
1. You are normalising an excessive work load. We all take work home sometimes, or stay late to make sure that the marking is done. What do you want when you let the world know you are doing this - a medal? They don't give those out for doing your job and they certainly don't give them out for letting the world know just how dedicated you are. If you are looking for affirmation, then that comes from the wonderful moments when your learners make significant progress. Tweeted pictures of your marking stack are -frankly- obnoxious and nobody is going to pat you on the back. The teaching profession has already accepted that we cannot do our job properly without using some of our own time, we do not need you upping the ante. Instead, try tweeting your tips for reducing the amount of unneccessary marking that you have to do or posting a picture of the peer and self assessment that your kids did with your expert guidance.
2. Colleagues who are stressed and anxious want to use social media without being reminded of work. In case it has slipped your notice, a great many colleagues are feeling overwhelmed, stressed and anxious about their work load. Social media is a great place to get away from teaching and look at pictures of kittens being cute or labradors with chicks on their heads. At least it is until you encounter some chipper little colleague gleefully listing the 72 hours worth of school work they are going to do in the next 24. If you are a learning leader or HOD then you definitely need to stop it. Your smugness is making other people feel guilty for using their weekends and holidays to recover from a difficult and challenging job. Instead, promote the things you do to relax and restore your own equilibrium.
3. You are perpetuating the myth that teaching leaves no time for anything else. Which is definitely not helpful. Youngsters looking to join the profession do NOT need to hear that we spend all our waking lives thinking about work. They need to know that it is OK to invest time in a relationship, a family, a life... Yes - share excellent practice, hints and tips and resources. But if you find yourself going to tweet about work in the wee small hours, then for goodness sake, don't. I had a colleague who used to send emails in the middle of the night and expect a response before school had started. She got a response from me once, and let me tell you that it was not the one she was expecting! Teaching has a terrible press at the moment - we need to present our profession as the warm, caring, considerate one we joined before we forget completely who we are and what we are about.
So, what am I doing this half term? I am on holiday in a fabulous house in North Yorkshire. I have brought no marking with me at all. I will tittle around with a bit of prep in front of the roaring fire I have made whilst I sup this truly excellent glass of wine. Cheers by the way! I shall re-read a text that I am teaching to a class (probably in a bubble bath) and I shall also read some brilliant and helpful blogs by other teachers. None of this will get in the way however of me having a lovely, relaxing time. I need to relax because teaching is hard work and I work hard at it.
And to that end - I'm off to the pub!
For three very good reasons...PLEASE STOP!
1. You are normalising an excessive work load. We all take work home sometimes, or stay late to make sure that the marking is done. What do you want when you let the world know you are doing this - a medal? They don't give those out for doing your job and they certainly don't give them out for letting the world know just how dedicated you are. If you are looking for affirmation, then that comes from the wonderful moments when your learners make significant progress. Tweeted pictures of your marking stack are -frankly- obnoxious and nobody is going to pat you on the back. The teaching profession has already accepted that we cannot do our job properly without using some of our own time, we do not need you upping the ante. Instead, try tweeting your tips for reducing the amount of unneccessary marking that you have to do or posting a picture of the peer and self assessment that your kids did with your expert guidance.
2. Colleagues who are stressed and anxious want to use social media without being reminded of work. In case it has slipped your notice, a great many colleagues are feeling overwhelmed, stressed and anxious about their work load. Social media is a great place to get away from teaching and look at pictures of kittens being cute or labradors with chicks on their heads. At least it is until you encounter some chipper little colleague gleefully listing the 72 hours worth of school work they are going to do in the next 24. If you are a learning leader or HOD then you definitely need to stop it. Your smugness is making other people feel guilty for using their weekends and holidays to recover from a difficult and challenging job. Instead, promote the things you do to relax and restore your own equilibrium.
3. You are perpetuating the myth that teaching leaves no time for anything else. Which is definitely not helpful. Youngsters looking to join the profession do NOT need to hear that we spend all our waking lives thinking about work. They need to know that it is OK to invest time in a relationship, a family, a life... Yes - share excellent practice, hints and tips and resources. But if you find yourself going to tweet about work in the wee small hours, then for goodness sake, don't. I had a colleague who used to send emails in the middle of the night and expect a response before school had started. She got a response from me once, and let me tell you that it was not the one she was expecting! Teaching has a terrible press at the moment - we need to present our profession as the warm, caring, considerate one we joined before we forget completely who we are and what we are about.
So, what am I doing this half term? I am on holiday in a fabulous house in North Yorkshire. I have brought no marking with me at all. I will tittle around with a bit of prep in front of the roaring fire I have made whilst I sup this truly excellent glass of wine. Cheers by the way! I shall re-read a text that I am teaching to a class (probably in a bubble bath) and I shall also read some brilliant and helpful blogs by other teachers. None of this will get in the way however of me having a lovely, relaxing time. I need to relax because teaching is hard work and I work hard at it.
And to that end - I'm off to the pub!
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