Be a teacher they said, it’s fun they said. You get to work with children, make a difference, do something you love. They said it was going to be great.
But as the pressures of the modern world come down hard on those who craft the future leaders of tomorrow. Governments, executives, ministers and educational leaders must be aware of the pressures that sit on the shoulders of our teachers.
Teachers today must make sure that students, spiritual, academic, emotional, psychological, physical, nutritional and social needs are being met.
Make sure the curriculum outcomes are met, but don’t teach them directly, allow them to find out everything for themselves. Differentiate to meet everyone’s needs but be inclusive and promote collaborative learning. Don’t patronise them by treating them like children but allow them to play. It must be structured play.
Whatever you do, don’t overstimulate, under-stimulate or neglect them in your classroom that’s nut-free, plastic free, negative energy free, prepared, organised, gender neutral, egalitarian but not authoritarian.
Your practise must be nurturing, but not fostering of independence, gentle but not overly permissive, whilst using just the right amount of technology. Too much and you’ll harm their development, too little and they won’t be ready for the future.
Assess them in a way that suits them. Don’t test them as this will cause harm. No grades or competition as this breeds inequality, but which position is my child sitting in the class? Is he first?
Don’t forget the curriculum. Write it in great detail. Don’t miss out one single word but remember that we will change it in a few weeks to keep you on your toes and you’ll have to rewrite it all because no one trusts that you can do your job properly. Although you have a degree and it is your profession. But still we want to monitor your progress.
Oh and make sure you promote equality. Celebrate every child’s skills and achievements but we are going to gather all your data, come into school and observe your class and then rank your school against all the others to see who’s best. So be the best. 
And keep those kids quiet but remember that communication is a very important part of learning. So I want to see an immersive, engaged class.
And I’ll need you to come in during the holidays to have meetings and prepare for the coming term.
Now get back to class, your out of ratio.
3 Responses
You have captured the teacher’s role in 2019 world-wide. The piece is brilliant and with your permission I would to share with the new teacher hires for the upcoming school year.
All the contradictions we meet everyday as teachers -learners put very well. The tight rope we work on ,only we as teachers know..it also made me emoathise that all over the world we have the standard norm.
Perfectly summarised. I’m on the point of leaving government based teaching after 20+ years after one micro-management incident too many. I’m currently exploring other options that are still education based and wholly benefit kids. I don’t suppose you’re hiring?