Secret Headteacher
@secretHT1
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Primary HT. Speak honestly about life as a HT and teaching in general. DMs always open for advice or questions. Blogging about life as an HT, warts and all.
United Kingdom
Joined June 2019
Maybe, instead of National Service for 18 year olds they should introduce national service for MPs. They all have to do several weeks volunteering in a school, GP, hospital, care home, social care and police within their first 12 months in office.
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What I would really like now is for @nadhimzahawi and @sajidjavid to come out and condemn Fabricant for his slur on the professional standards of teacher and nurses. We’re all ears Mr Zahawi and Mr Javid.
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Teachers going on strike is ‘unforgivable’ says @nadhimzahawi. Personally, I think creating and sustaining an education system that struggles to recruit and retain the key people to deliver that system is unforgivable.
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Don’t tell me I’m behind. Don’t tell me I’ll be held back for ever. Don’t tell me I need longer at school. Don’t tell me I’m lost. Tell me I can do it. Tell me you’ll help me. Tell me you believe in me. Tell me we’ll do it together. Yours sincerely,. The children.
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Nurses.Teachers.Ambulances.NHS Physios.Junior Doctors (being balloted).Train drivers.Teachers.University staff.Civil servants.Postal workers.Fire Brigade.Criminal barristers. All of these services striking. They can’t all be wrong. The people are not the problem.
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You’re not officially a teacher unless someone you live with has told you that they’re not one of the children in your class and you can’t speak to them like that.
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Mary Earps giving us the Out of Office reply we never knew we needed.
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We teach the children in our schools respect. Integrity. Manners. Politeness. The power of using our voice. Consequences for our actions. And then our newest education minister shines the wonderful example of simply abandoning all that and brandishing hand gestures. Shameful.
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Headlines You Won’t See This Weekend:. Schools expertly manage the return of pupils despite staff absence and logistical challenges. Well done everyone. Have a good weekend.
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I’m pretty sick of hearing how important kids’ education is, but being repeatedly reminded of how unimportant the people who deliver it are considered.
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I’m starting to think even wet blue paper towel is not going to be able to save 2020.
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I’m in A&E (not for me). There is teacher in front of me asking for pain relief as she waits. How do I know she’s a teacher? She’s planning lessons and prepping work while she sits in what seems like a lot of pain waiting to be seen. That’s why we have retention issues.
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Hi @educationgovuk,. This week I’ve got more children and staff off with Covid than at any previous point in the pandemic. Just thought I’d let you know. Have a good evening,. Secret Headteacher.
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In all the furore that might get caused on Wednesday during the strike, feel free to mention to anyone and everyone that the DFE and Ofsted are also on strike that day. That one is being kept very quiet.
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Today a teacher called me out on a bad call she thought I made. We talked about it. I listened, gave my point of view. We agreed it was a bad call. So I changed it and said sorry. It doesn’t make me weak, and I’m pleased she felt she could challenge me.
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All this talk of a strike being damaging to children, I’ll tell you what is damaging to children:. Not enough teachers.Not enough money in schools.Buildings in a state of disrepair.Demoralised work force.Loss of goodwill that keeps things going. That will all do far more damage.
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Everyone: It must be so lovely being in a school at Christmas time. Teachers: Come and see. Just come and see the carnage.
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In awarding Gavin Williamson a knighthood, they have just undermined everything that everyone in education achieved in the pandemic. Education prevailed despite his shambolic leadership, not because of it. Rewarding something less far than mediocrity. Furious.
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If you’re someone who is getting all exorcised about the fact teachers have six weeks holiday coming up…we have loads of vacancies, loads of good on the job training opportunities, loads of bits of job satisfaction. Come and be a teacher, we’d love to have you!.
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Parents, if your child is going on a residential in the coming weeks, please go and say thank you to the staff who took them when you collect your child at the end of the trip. It really makes a big difference!.
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Johnson and Sunak shouldn’t need to resign. There should be something written in the ministerial code that means you are automatically removed from office if you are found to have broken the law while holding a public position. Fed up of the farce.
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So now we see the value of education. £1000, before tax, and a below inflation increase for next year of 4.5%. Not fully funded. Less than fire service, doctors, railway workers and the offer to teachers in Wales and Scotland. That’s how little they value education.
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I’d rather see a teacher who was well rested than one who had a great PowerPoint. I’d rather see a teacher who’d had enough down time than one who’d double mounted everything. I’d rather see a teacher who was happy than one who resented coming in to work everyday.
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Let’s face it, very few people leaving teaching because of the teaching part.
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If teaching was just teaching it would be straightforward. But it’s not. It’s. Teacher.Counsellor.First aider.Friend.Listener.Planner.Data analyst.Showman.Cleaner.Supervisor.Evaluator.Assessor.Team member.Actor.Team leader.Carer.Protector. And that’s why it’s exhausting.
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Tonight, as you go to sleep thinking about your class and how you have to teach and help them remote learn, remember that even on your very worst day of doing it, you’ll have provided 100 times more support than the DFE have for the profession.
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It doesn’t matter your school role: teacher, leader, TA, office, finance, pastoral, safeguarding, cleaning, child, parent, governor now is the time to take a deep breath and enjoy a well earned rest. Happy half term everyone.
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To every non-teacher that has tweeted support for striking teachers…thank you. You don’t know how much it means.
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This week you:. Kept them safe.Made them laugh.Helped them learn.Made them better.Modelled kindness.Supported their needs.Showed them something new.Helped a colleague.Made someone smile.Were good enough.Did more than you realise. This week you made a difference.
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It’s a straight toss up between the DFE and Becky from Twinkl for the most annoying emails with constantly, poorly timed regularity.
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A school full of teachers at 6pm isn’t necessarily something to be proud of and a school empty of teachers by 4pm isn’t something be ashamed of.
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I love teaching. I love the kids. I love my school. But I love my family more, so I try to put them first and make sure I leave school in good time to see them. Don’t let people make you feel bad for doing that.
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You’re not officially a teacher until a child has called you mum or dad.
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Parents, if your child goes on a residential between now and the end of the year, go and give the teachers a quick thank you when you pick your child up. You’d be amazed how little it happens, and it means a huge amount.
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Next time Ofsted visit a school they should read every letter a school has sent out during the last month, and read every message of thanks they’ve had from the community. They should then look every member of staff in the eye, say ‘thank you’ and walk out the door.
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TAs were the unsung heroes of the pandemic? . Let’s be honest, they were the unsung heroes long before any pandemic.
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The pressure of impending Ofsted is like nothing else. Since our inspection I sleep better, eat better and spend less money on ‘things’ to try boost my mood. My relationship with family is better. My heart rate is lower. The mental, and physical, toll is huge. Time for change.
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I tell you what, if they give Gavin Williamson a knighthood they better be giving one to every single person who has worked in a school over the last 18 months.
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All the children need tomorrow is a big smile and to know you’re happy to see them. The rest will come.
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Listening to Boris Johnson is like listening to the Year 3 child who swears blind they didn’t push anyone over, yet 5 other children and two members of staff saw them do it.
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Want to know what it’s like being a teacher? . You wake up at 2:39am and your first thought is the name of a child in your school who needs support.
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Today, I don’t care if the lessons at school were awful. Or if some kids didn’t learn anything. Because today we made one child’s life a little bit safer. And that’s more important.
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Children’s education is not suffering because teachers are on strike. Children’s education is suffering from years of underfunding, undervaluing and lack of understanding of how stretched schools are. It’s not self serving, not greedy, it’s wanting better for the children.
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What do you mean you’ve lost the lid?. It’s yours and no one else can touch it! You have your own desk, your own glue stick, there’s no one within 2m of you, the carpet is clear all around you. There are only 5 other kids in here!. What could you possibly have done with it?!.
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If that other teacher on Twitter is doing live lessons and you’re not, fine. If they’re doing pre-records and you’re not, fine. If they’re reading three different stories and you’re not, fine. We’re each doing our best and all we can for ours kids. Don’t compare yourself.
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The long term effect of Covid on education won’t be a generation of children who may have gaps in their knowledge, teachers will sort that. It’ll be a generation who have no teachers at all because they’ve all left.
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If you are planning today remember not every lesson needs a crazy hook or amazing video or fabulous slides that have gifs embedded. You can just stand up, explain what they need to know and let them have a go. Sometimes the best lessons start with an empty whiteboard.
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All non-teachers, just checking. You know this mess, farce and chaos is not of our making, right?.
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If teaching was easy, everyone would do it. If teaching made you feel good all the time, everyone would do it. If teaching was 9-3 everyone would do it. It’s hard, can be never ending and not everyone can do it. That’s why you should feel good about yourself - because you can.
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Ah. All those children who don’t go to private school is because their parents didn’t work hard enough or aspire to that education for their kids. Of course. Clearly, aspiring to a good state education is not worth bothering with.
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Forget what Adonis, Wilshaw, Spielman or anyone in the media says - when teachers were needed we stepped up. We know it, parents know it and the kids know it. That’ll do for me.
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Ideas to save education, number 1:. Every 5 years give teachers a fully funded sabbatical, of one whole term. This could be used to visit settings, research, visit other countries, rest and reflect. If 5 years is a retention crunch point, this might help out in a big way.
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Behind every shattered school staff member, there’s 30 kids who are still really glad to be back. It’s worth it.
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A parent contacted me yesterday saying their child needed to return to school (KW status but both WFH) as they have missed three weeks of school. Should I politely remind them they chose to take them to Disneyland for three weeks in September and it wasn’t a problem then?.
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Sorry, Liz. Most teachers are struggling to get to July let alone 80.
🚨 NEW: Liz Truss has reportedly suggested the retirement age should be raised to 80 . [@mikeysmith].
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Parents - I know it’s tough, and it’s hard for you, but please remember the staff at your children’s school are humans too. They are having the same worries, anxieties as you and they would rather your children were in school. Please bear it in mind before you send that email.
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I’m still of the belief that the majority of Ofsted’s role in the last academic year should have been to come in, look everyone in the eye, shake their hand, say ‘thank you for all you’ve done’ and leave again.
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As a leader, I don’t care what time the staff at our school leave and arrive. I care that they are doing the job to a good standard. How they achieve that is largely up to them.
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Dear parent,. I’m trying. I really am. I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want all the time. I’m sorry if you think my best isn’t good enough. I’m sorry if I don’t have the resources you think I should. None of that means I don’t care about your child. Headteacher.
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I tweeted about not using tomorrow for catch up. It’s fine if you do, obviously. It’s your choice. But…. What a mess the profession is in if teachers need a catch up day after 10 days of term.
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Hey leaders, There are a massive amount of staff right on the edge of burn out. They might not show it, might not even know it and probably won’t know how to handle it. Now’s the time to be kind. Is that extra thing you’re asking for or that extra meeting really necessary?.
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Abandon your lesson plans for tomorrow morning, primary teachers. Kids will be shattered.
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Parents, before you send that email, remember that your child is 1 of 30 the teacher is responsible for. Teachers, before you send that reply, remember that although the child is one of 30 to you, they are everything to the parent. Different viewpoints, sharing the same goal.
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It is entirely possible there will be an overestimation of the damage done to learning during the last year and a massive underestimation of what this country’s children are capable of.
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I don’t want it to come home if it means booing other countries national anthems is acceptable.
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If you want the alleged:. holidays.great pay.finish at 3pm.easy working conditions.weekends and evenings off. then be a teacher yourself. Theres a recruitment crisis, we need as many new people as we can get. There’s loads of ways to get into it. I’d be happy to help.
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This weekend, be the part of you that isn’t a teacher.
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Here’s an idea. Only inspect from 1st October to the 30th June. Let the year get bedded in before you start and stop before everything gets disrupted by end of year arrangements and events.
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If you’ve made it through this week, whether you feel it’s been good or bad, you’ve done a good job and should be proud of yourself. Now rest.
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Striking teachers are not sabotaging today’s education; they’re saving tomorrow’s.
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We tell the kids all they can do is their best. That goes for adults in school too. If you did your best this week, consider it a job well done.
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Being a teacher is hard.Being a dep head is hard.Being a head is hard.Being a caretaker is hard.Being a TA is hard.Working in the office is hard . Any job in a school is hard. Don’t judge someone’s performance too harshly unless you’ve done the job yourself.
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Parents, on behalf of teachers everywhere - thanks for all you’ve done. Every piece of work, learning, maths, writing or reading no matter how small will have made a difference.
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The children won’t really notice if the displays aren’t finished or perfect on day 1. They probably won’t notice if books aren’t labelled. What they will notice is you and how excited/keen you are to get to know them and start building relationships. That’s the important bit.
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A pair of C’s might be just as hard fought and valuable to some as a trio of A’s is to someone else. Don’t demean anyone’s achievements today.
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Let’s all change our Twitter handles to Sir or Dame in recognition of our own incoming honours.
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If I knew I could only teach one more lesson, I wouldn’t teach anything. I’d just have a chat and enjoy being with the children, because those are some of the best bits of every day.
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We know January might be chaos in school. But it hasn’t happened yet, and there’s not much you can do about it in the next few days anyway, so try and enjoy the rest of the holiday.
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My school won’t ever make the newspaper, it won’t ever win awards, it won’t ever be at the cutting edge. But it will send on children who know how to work hard, believe in themselves and are good people. That’s much more important to me.
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Today I shall be mainly planning the inset day that no-one wants to attend or listen to.
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Dear @GillianKeegan,. The saddest thing about working in education, at the moment, is that it’s getting harder and harder to recommend it as a career to other people. It didn’t used to be that way. Yours,. School Staff.
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One of the greatest tricks this government has pulled in the last ten years is convincing everyone that everything is the teachers’ fault.
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If someone has a 35 year teaching career they will have taught over 26,000 lessons. If you are just starting out, listen to experienced teachers. They may be a bit more cynical, and may have slowed down a bit from the manic pace of their 20s, but their experience is invaluable.
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I’m sorry, but school staff don’t need a later start on Monday because we might be tired from watching the football. We’re always tired anyway.
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When teachers fall out of love with ‘teaching’ it’s absolutely not because of the teaching.
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Who knows what the children have seen on the news or heard at home this week, or over the coming weeks. When we get back to school we must show them the value of tolerance, inclusivity, empathy and respect. Right from day one, in every classroom. Show them what really matters.
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When this is all done, we won’t think back to the live lessons that went a bit wrong, or that someone else did it differently or most of the other stuff that gets us down. We’ll look back and think what an amazing job we did. Let’s start thinking that now, not in 12 months.
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A bad day doesn’t make you a bad teacher. It doesn’t mean you can’t control your class, it doesn’t mean you can’t pitch work properly, it doesn’t mean you’re unorganised. It means you had a bad day. Tomorrow is a new one.
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You’re not officially a teacher until you’ve made a class sit in silence for at least one minute to practice sitting quietly.
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If you want to see the people who really keep things motoring in classrooms, try and teach a week with no TA’s in a school. Unseen work, unsung heroes. #NationalTADay.
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Every minister who works in the DFE should have to spend one week a term working and shadowing in a school. Each term a different school demographic, a different phase, a different model of school. I wonder how that might change things?.
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Tonight I’ve had enough. Enough of feeling like I’m doing the wrong thing.Enough of taking the blame.Enough of being hung out to dry.Enough of second guessing .Enough of making decisions.Enough of feeling guilty.Enough of justifying.Enough of being tired. I’ve had enough.
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If lockdown has taught me one thing, it’s that being in pyjamas before 7pm is absolutely acceptable.
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On the eve of what would’ve been SATs week, consider:. - primary education has not fallen apart.- I can still judge how well the children are doing.- Ofsted seem to feel they can manage without the data, currently.- Year 6 are getting a broad curriculum. Shall we stay this way?.
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Fabricant:. "I don't think at any time he thought he was breaking the law. he thought just like many teachers and nurses who after a very long shift would go back to the staff room and have a quiet drink". Do one, Michael. We followed the rules. Unlike some. BS everywhere.
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Not every teacher aspires to be a leader. That’s OK. Aspiring to continue to be a great teacher is a great thing to want to be. Don’t believe this ‘just a…’ nonsense.
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Always surprises me when people who come to work at my school are surprised when I’m flexible about hours if they need it, when I say they can go to their kids shows, give them time out when they are struggling. Surely it’s a no brainer? Why wouldn’t you help people if you could?.
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The only reason education hasn’t completely fallen apart recently is because of the attitude and commitment of the people working in it.
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