Let's Value and Respect Our Teachers: Thank a Teacher Today!

Thank a Teacher Day was about a week ago, but you can show your appreciation at any time of the year!
However, as the academic year is coming to a close (and since my 'Education' category is really lacking in some posts!) I thought I would do a teacher appreciation post.

Personally, I think that the career of being a teacher is largely undermined in society, and I don't think teachers gain enough value and respect that they deserve. After all, most of you reading this will have probably been affected by one somehow.

Unfortunately, we also see many comments scrutinising the work of teachers which are really upsetting to read. Many of us don't realise the sheer amount of resilience and dedication that teachers must commit to, but having witnessed many of mine go above and beyond what is expected of them, it breaks my heart knowing that teachers have to come across them.


If you still attend school or if you are a student and you don't want to read this whole post, please do one thing - take note of the concluding paragraph.

If you are a hard-working teacher/lecturer - thank you so much for everything that you do for your pupils/ students. I know a 'thank you' does suffice to the challenges, sacrifices and dedication you put into your jobs every single day.


Of course, I'm not a teacher, so I'm going to try my best based on research and personal conversations I have had.
Remember that this is just a generalisation. Here are just a handful of reasons to why you should thank a teacher today:


Teachers really do care about their pupils/students
In the most recent Teacher Wellbeing Index (2018) by the Education Support Partnership it was stated that the main reasons for wanting to work in education is 'to work with children/young people and make a difference, or an impact, on their lives. They want to teach them and help them learn, achieve and progress.' (pg. 14). This point is largely link to the following three points, which are explained below.


They make financial sacrifices
It's no myth that funding in education is suffering. At A Level I wasn't even provided textbooks for one of the subjects that I studied. There was only one textbook which we all got photocopies of bits and pieces out of, but we all know that you can't get a 'satisfactory' pass without knowing all the information provided in the exam board textbook.

Teachers earn money to teach, but you may not realise that a portion of that is likely to go back into being able to meet the standards and needs of their pupils. An article by The Guardian reports that this is so that additional academic materials which school/departmentmental budgets alone can't cover can be provided, in addition to necessary basic needs which children from the most deprived households may not be able to afford.

Even being in Sixth Form, a few of my teachers would buy books and materials out of their own pockets. I had one teacher who even told us to not spend our own money on resources we needed for their subject, and to let them know if we needed anything. Needless to say, those of us in the class thought it was unfair to them, so we didn't most of the time.

Teachers want you to be able to do your best and see your wellbeing and basic needs met. Some will even make financial sacrifices in order for that to be achieved.


Always going the extra miles
One-on-one meetings, coming in early to run breakfast clubs and even working with pupils at weekends or during the holidays instead of spending time with their families, especially in the run up to the exam period. These are not things that teachers have to do, but they choose to as they want to make sure that they are doing all they can to ensure that you are doing your best whether that's through detailed feedback on work or extra sessions to work on specific techniques.

Beyond academics, there are also extra-curricular activities to help you build on those vital non-cognitive skills (including: creativity, mindset, emotional development, self-regulation, communication and critical thinking) that will stick with us beyond education to. They're also there to take your mind off from the intense learn, study, test routine. For me and my friends, taking part in extra-curricular gave us something which we could really look forward to. After school and lunch rehearsals were what got us through the school day and weeks.

If these first few points don'tt show you that they work for so much more than their salaries, I don't know what else will.


Making sure that pupils/students feel proud of themselves
They are the ones who have faith in us when we don't have faith in ourselves - quite literally. They will challenge us to reach our full potential and personal goals, whether it's through a bit of tough love or through small gentle nudges. They will remind us of all the accomplishments which we should feel proud of when we feel like 'failures'. Despite it being so tough to see the potential in someone who doesn't believe in their ability to go above a certain limit, they will never give up in helping us to prove ourselves wrong and will celebrate with us when those goals are met.

Teachers carry a lot of responsibility
Teachers are made to feel accountable for a lot. Some of these responsibilities will conflict with educational and societal expectations or standards, which are a challenge to balance.

• Engaging pupils - With increasingly rigorous subject specifications requiring pupils to be able to learn so much in so little time, there's the conflict between teaching to understand and be able to apply knowledge to unseen contexts vs teaching to know and be able to recall concepts and material from memory. Understandably, this has a great impact on how teachers are able to deliver thoroughly planned and engaging lessons, whilst  also ensuring that all material is covered on time.
  
  
• Personal progress vs grades - Educational achievement is much more focused on standardised measures of success rather than progress (see this post for more). It must be rough knowing that a pupil has worked hard and has made progress, but not being able merit them for their efforts. Trying to balance feedback so that pupils are aware of needing to meet set standards, but also emphasising the importance of being able to reflect and focus on personal progress to is a challenge.
  
  
  
• To hug or not to hug? Providing comfort to pupils - A light hug can go a long way, but there's been a lot of controversy regarding physical contact in schools. Should teaching staff be allowed to provide hugs or just a touch on the shoulder as a signal of comfort to a pupil who is distressed? There are so many loopholes to this matter.
  
  
• Safeguarding and Wellbeing - I don't think I need to expand on this. It's a touchy subject to have to deal with. More recently it has been reported that teachers will be trained to spot signs of deteriorating mental health. Spotting signs isn't exactly a breeze, and in my opinion there needs to be more protection for teachers in regard to the accountability involved with the reporting such concerns.
  
  
• Dealing with parents - Say no more. We have all witnessed it at one point of another. Parents: teachers are not genies who can make things happen in an instant. Be patient and thank them for doing their best to help you or your child.
  
  
• Getting to know each individual pupil - No doubt that this is a demanding task in a class of 30, but can you imagine being a secondary school teacher, teaching over 100 pupils and having parents expect you to be able to report back to them their individual child's progress at parent consultations? Then there's also the pressure of maintaining inclusively within their classrooms and being able to adapt their pedagogy to benefit every pupil in each class.
  
  
• Admin work - All I'm going to say is: So. Much. Paperwork. Everything requires paperwork... and more paperwork. Possibly add in a lot of emails to. Picture it like all the behind the scenes stuff that goes on during and before filming or a theatre performance.
  
  

Basically, teachers have a lot of demands put upon them, so they should be protected and supported. Some of us have to realise that not many of us can handle as much as they do! Look at the situation holistically from their perspectives rather as an isolated event.

They are much more than teachers
Teachers are like our parents when we need support, guidance and comfort to help us find our way. Many of them will say that their pupils are their children. They are counsellors for when we need someone to listen to our worries. I know it's said that teachers shouldn't be friendly with their pupils, but they also feel like our friends when they are able to make us laugh and smile. Those moments are some of the best moments of our experiences in education. Finally, as already mentioned, they are some of the loudest cheerleaders. It's all the little things that bundle together and make teachers some of the most valuable people to many pupils and students.

Ravi Roshan | Unsplash

They help shape minds

If I were to ask you to think of a teacher who has made a positive difference in your mindset and the way you approach setbacks, you would all hopefully be able to name at least one. It may be cliché, but it's true to say that teachers have a profound impact on part of who we are today. Hopefully, that's for the better. Without even realising, teachers teach us so much of what we know today. Many of these lessons will stick with us for a lifetime.

It's unquestionable that:

Teachers make a difference.

Many people stop thanking teachers after primary school, but even being at university now I will always consider writing a simple note to my lecturers - even if it's just a 'thank you' note with a '😊' in the comments section of their feedback forms. Some of you will say that "they are just doing their jobs", but they deserve the recognition.

Never feel 'awkward' to thank a teacher (hyperlink to a video attached) that you know deserves the praise. I have learned that most teachers are extremely humble. Just writing them a little note or an email will be enough. They care about whether you have felt supported by them!

We all need some reassurance from those around us that we are doing a good job now and then, and teachers aren't any different.

If there's one thing I would like you all to take away from this post it is to go and thank a teacher after you read this. It doesn't matter whether you're a pupil/student/carer/parent, of if you're finishing the academic year, or you have already left school/university a long while ago. It's NEVER too late to show your appreciation.

Check out Pearson's Thank a Teacher Card Campaign if you would like some help with sending a card!

(not sponsored!) 

Meeting Standards: Self-Doubt and Competition

I'm exam-free for the academic year! 🥳

Results day nerves kicked in a few moments after my last exam, but we'll deal with that later. I need a break for now! However, less than 48 hours after (as this sentence is being written) I feel completely lost with what to do with myself. No assignments. No revision. What now?

Well, I suppose I should start with a long overdue post, so let's get to it!
Whilst this is written from a student perspective, it can also be applied beyond this type of setting.


One of the biggest challenges I came across throughout my first year as I was completing assignments and revision for exams was self-doubt. Knowing that you know the information and that you DO understand it, but still having that little voice in your head which tells you that you don't. We've all been there.

It's something that I have worked on over the past few years but coming to a place like Warwick where students are generally academically intelligent and where most students are very well-educated from private, grammar, selective, and high-performing schools it was (and rather still is) daunting. I never completely understood the impact of this until being exposed to it. Some will like to show that off as well and some students will try and google you to find out what kind of school you attended and where you are from. Some students won't be afraid to announce their results to everyone also; to tell the whole class that they feel super confident with an exam/ assignment. They have that self-confidence. I wish I could take some of that for myself sometimes!

trajaner | Pixabay

I'm not even going sugar-coat it - for other students like me, it can really take a toll on our self-assurance. Like many others, I often feel like the red egg amongst the white ones in the image on the right. It is something that is difficult to talk about when you're in such a competitive environment. Mostly in fear that other students will look down on you.

If I'm going to be real, some do. They don't realise that not everyone had the same level of education and amount of resources to support them as they did. This is not necessarily out of ignorance, but it's tough to understand the position of someone else when you don't know any better. That's the same for every context, for instance: not understanding the reality of what it's like to have a different career. You can judge and imagine what it may be like to be a teacher, but you will never truly understand the position of one until you have experienced the reality of the context yourself.

Please NOTE before reading the next paragraph: 

Many students are friendly, but like anywhere you go, there will unfortunately be the minority that just stand out.

There have been the odd unpleasant comment and exclamations now and then when I have admitted to not being able to understand certain parts of a lecture or not already having knowledge regarding a given section. I would be lying if I said otherwise. I had to remind myself that it's understandable to some extent because of the reason that I set out above. I say to some extent because there's a line between that and being arrogant. You can guess which part of that bothers me the most.

If you have ever asked a question on your class group chat for someone to hit back at you with an arrogant comment, you know how deflating that it especially in a class of 180+. What's worse is that once that one comment is made, no other student wants to reply to you. 

In the case that you find yourself in such a situation, here are some pointers which I follow by:

1.  Don't be one those people who is too lazy to check your lecture notes when you know the answer to your question is in them. Chances are, you won't get a reply.
2. If you're the one asking, and you find that unpleasant comments are being made: just turn to your lecturer or individual peer members instead. They'll be happy to help!
3. If you're the one replying: think before you make comments. The best thing to do if you don't want to answer the question is to not comment at all. There's no need to be rude about it. You either give the desired answer or you don't. Simple as that.
4. If an arrogant comment has been made don't let them prevent you from not replying. If you can answer the question, answer it and reassure the sender that it's a valid question to ask if need be.

Linking on from that, attending a Russel Group (which essentially refers to research intensity) or a university 'with a name', means that people will assume that you have natural academic intelligence. May be true; may not be true. We'll leave that for the nature vs. nurture debate. Regardless, some people will pick things up at much faster pace than others. Same outcome; different processes.

This was something that really bothered me at first. As well as not having the high A-Level grades that students at Warwick generally do, it seemed that the majority of students around me were able to pick up new material in an instant, something I had not yet got to grips with. I might be able to KNOW the content with the bare minimum depending on the topic, but can I really UNDERSTAND the material without doing the pre-lecture reading, going through lecture notes, watching back over the lecture on lecture capture and adding to notes if necessary, and doing extra reading on top of that? Probably not. I keep asking myself:

"How on Earth am I going to live up to these standards?"

Being someone who started off in secondary school being in bottom set for literally every subject, I have come a long way. That's a result of diligence, and there's no way that I'm going to fall through now that I am here. As with all that extra reading - I promise you that you will thank yourself for it when exams come around.

As well as learning about the impact of educational inequalities in A-Level Sociology, self-fulfilling prophecy was also covered.

"Mens agitat molem" - University of Warwick's motto

Translation: Mind moves mass. In other words: mind moves matter / mind over matter.

Without sounding like I'm writing some sort of fairy tale related novel, you have to believe that you ARE capable. Clearly your admission tutor (or employer if you're doing an apprenticeship or working) thought so to, so prove it to them. In order to do that you need to be able to prove it to yourself first and foremost.

Sure, there are going to be barriers along the way and it's going to be a challenge, but you will learn how to overcome them at one point or another, whether that's in a few hours or several months or perhaps years. Regardless of what university you are at, whether you are doing some sort of apprenticeship, or have taken up a job we're all hit by the same gruelling feeling of needing to act in defiance against ourselves in situations where we feel far from confident.

As I was writing this, I thought of a spiral staircase metaphor, which I'm going to share with you now:

Pxhere | CC0 1.0

See the image on the left?
Imagine yourself at the bottom of that spiral staircase where the top seems unreachable. Perhaps there's a moment you can relate this imagery to. Looking up at the length of the journey and deciding to make that first step upwards takes more strength than we realise. The first few steps after that may be a breeze. Then you will slow down and seem like you haven't made very much progress. You can clearly see the bottom, but the top is still not in sight. From there on there will be times when you will run up the steps. Other times you will slow down. You will also need to stop and take a break every now and then to prevent burnout. Sometimes the steps may disappear for some length and you will find yourself sliding down a few levels. Then there's the middle part where you may feel completely lost. You're just going around and round and round, climbing up, fighting the fatigue and seemingly getting nowhere. Here it's important to look back and reflect on the progress you have made so far. All those hundreds of steps that lie before you. It's an exhausting process. However, it's all worth it when you can finally see the end in sight, and you reach that top platform.

Forget about what point others are in the spiral staircase for a moment. What matters in the present time is that you're here doing whatever it is that you are doing. Take time to look down and reflect on how far you have come. You have already overcome so much (big or small) to get to your current position. That's something to be proud of. It's an achievement. You've done it multiple times previously and you can do it again, only this time it's remembering that that:

You are your biggest competition.

It's something I consistently tell myself time and time again. If you believe that you're going to fall; you are going to fall. Why? You're not going to bother trying to challenge yourself to take those steps and progress so that you are able to reach your potential. That only leads to further dissatisfaction. It's so difficult to fight towards your own willpower.

A lot of this comes from comparison. People are going to make comparisons and I'm not going to say don't compare yourself to others, because it's inevitable that you will no matter how many times that is said. It's human nature to do so. However, don't let your limits and goals depend on that of others. Where YOU are at this moment in time will be completely different to where someone else is. Someone else's next step won't necessarily get you to where YOU are aiming to get to.

It's all about focusing on yourself more and understanding your thought processes. Before you tell yourself that you can't do something, ask why that is. Personally, I find that the answer lies with me comparing myself to others and not having enough faith in my strengths and ability to use them to get myself where I need to be. Whilst competing against others is a challenge, one of the biggest barriers standing in the way is probably my own self-esteem. Competing against your own diffidence takes a great deal of mental strength.

In a university setting it's also a point to remember that unlike with GCSEs and A-Levels, your lecturers aren't comparing your mark to the rest of the cohort before weighting out the grade boundaries accordingly so that only a limited percentage of students can receive a certain grade. They are set in stone. It's your individual piece of work and the mark scheme. You just have to trust that your lecturers won't let the previous piece of marked work dictate what the piece of work they are currently marking will receive.

Jukan Tateisi | Unsplash

Beyond that there are going to be barriers that you can't prevent or have complete control of such as the decisions of others which impact what you do next. They are nerve-wrecking and at times unpredictable, but what we can change is how we react to them; how we use them as lessons to refine our strategies and pinpoint where our weaknesses lie.

I have found that learning to take a step back and giving yourself a moment to reflect upon that and thinking about what YOU need to do next to progress really helps alternative to thinking about what others are doing and what others expect of themselves. Nevertheless, sometimes comparisons can be positive in helping us to explore new options and strategies which we may be able to integrate into our own.

I used to just say that I'm really lucky to be in the position that I am in now. To be able to study in such a wonderful department - which you all know by now - I love. This was because of comparison of a range of things which I have mentioned throughout this post: self-confidence, standards, experience, grades, to name a few.

However, upon reflection I have changed my mind on that. It's not down to luck at all. It's down to hard work and perseverance. It's down to being able to (or at the very least attempting to) challenge myself much more for my own personal needs as for meeting the standards of others. I need to start giving myself credit for that. No matter what anyone else thinks or whether others are several steps above me, I have come a long way from where I was just 6 years ago.

It may not seem like it all the time but so have you. We all have come far from where we have initially stood, wherever that may be. It's important that we recognise and respect ourselves for that.