Fellow teachers remind me why I am a teacher - other than the holidays.

[twinsetandpearls]

I have been well all holiday and now the thought of becoming a teacher again with all the long hours and grief has made me ill all day.

I am so stressed I have not been breathing properly all day so I now feel dizzy and sick and have am awful pain in my chest and my IBS has started again.

Twinset, just wanted to add a message of solidarity. We ALL feel like this at the end of the holidays, and it is nothing to do with 'being in it for the holidays'. Teaching is a singularly stressful job and I, like you, get nervous and Septemberish, and you have said that you are going back to more responsibility so it is not surprising that you feel apprehensive.

I am guessing that Seeker is not a teacher and therefore really can't comment on your situation.

Seeker your comments were offensive rather than helpful and that is the last thing that Twinset needed.

To the OP, my best bit is def. when students make such an excellent point that you coudn't have planned or thought of it yourself, but you know it was inspired by the lesson you just taught. Wonderful.

for seeing that dishevelled yr 7 kid who never knew if he was coming or going and was always on report.

Only by the end of the year he has managed to turn himself around and become a totally kid. he always has a big smile and can even chat sensibly with grownups in the school canteen. To know that you were part of his change and that he is a happier boy for it.

I was thrilled for this kid when his head of year took him bowling back in July for making such great strides in his personal development and was keen to see him yesterday.

a totally different kid

To be fair to seeker she did say her comments were not addressed at me and I would hate to think that any of my dd teachers or my colleagues in fact were just in the job for the holidays.

I am actually very happy having settled back in and got rid of my nerves, I am infact happier and more fulfilled than I have ever been in my career.

I ahve had lots of moment this week that have reminded me why I became a teacher.

Vengefulsquirrel - explain to me how my comments were offensive to anyone except the minority of jobsworth teachers. Or are you saying they don't exist and the profession is beyond reproach?

I'm also a little surprised at the suggestion that I can't contribute to this thread because I am not a teacher. Firstly, this is an assumption you have made on no evidence. Secondly, I would have thought being a parent and a taxpayer would qualify me to contribute. Unless, of course, this is a personal and private thread to offer support to an individual - in which case I will appologize and withdraw.

I hope things go well for you twinsetandpearls - as I said, you're obviosly one of the good ones!

apologize - even. I always get it wrong when I try to do haughty.

I felt very aprihensive before my first lesson back....real stage fright!

Once I was back in and got started it was fine, but thefirst lesson back always leaves me feeling sick with nerves. Because iof the long break, and also because it is very often with a class full of new kids. The anxiety is always there, how am I going to do? Will they listen and , of course, you dsre not show it to them or you are dead in the water!

Seeker, just the thread title 'Fellow teachers...' gave me the impressoion that the OP was looking for comments from others in the profession who would understand that she was not necessarily complaining about the job in general, but just the build up to and start of term.

Would it make it all right if I explained that I am actually a teacher - or would you like to see my certificate?

Still don't see what I said that was offensive.

There are multiple reasons why teaching is a wonderful, worthwhile thing to do. Unfortunately, not all of us enjoy it. I got a massive buzz from teaching for a little while...and then became totally frazzled, fatigued and eventually ill. I have never regretted leaving my teaching post - its the sheer volume of crappy paperwork you have to do outside of working hours that got to me - but I hugely admire my ex colleagues - the ones who can go in and make a difference every single day. haven't answrred your question, really, have I? Sorry!

First week back is always a fair bit more stressful than a normal week. Classlists are so often wrong, so you have to deal with 'spare' or 'missing hildren at the start of the lessons, and that throws the lesson plant, and the rest of the kids get fidgity, and you have to pull them back in. And you don't know them, and they don't know you.

All adds to the fun and games.

I found out this week that the schools firewall has been changed so lots of the websites I use with the kids have been blocked (one was cellsalive.com for example!). And of course you only find this out 15 mins before you go to use the thing.

And they took away our crap photocopier........and replaced it with one that is even older and harder to use! So far , none of us can do anything other than simple A4 copying. Unless this improved the poor old office staff will get overwhelmed with photocopy requests!

Mb they did that with our photcopiers, took away one very good photcopier and one OK photocopier and replaced it with one that didn;t work! Hence long stressed queues in the morning.