“Hey general public, teaching isn’t an episode of Waterloo Road!”

I want to be clear from the outset – this is not a blog about how teachers work harder than everyone else, but it is a blog to state some facts about the work teachers actually do.

I think there is a huge public vacuum in terms of the knowledge and understanding people have about what teachers do and why it is a very challenging job.

Media, coupled with adult memories of their own schooling (often negative) has led to much of the public, even those supportive of teachers, to harbour an idea of what teachers do that I like to call “Waterloo Road Teaching”.

"Waterloo Road Teaching" typically consists of:

Teachers and Students bantering

Teachers gossiping with other teachers between lessons, during lessons and at lunchtime, usually with coffee cups in hand

Technology always working, including photocopiers

Teachers setting work and then reading news