Cried for the first time

[adriana126]

I'm feeling so down and emotional right now. I'm an NQT and so far this term has been good. My class are lovely an the school is supportive.

But for the last two weeks I've been so tired and I feel like I haven't got the time to do anything. The children are so restless these days especially in the afternoons. So today I went to toilet and I couldn't stop crying for like 5 minutes. I just feel like I'm rubbish when it comes to using my time wisely. I see all these teachers completing everything especially the marking quickly and I just feel useless.

Any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated from you lovely people.
Thanks in advance.

Firstly, don't give yourself a hard time. The NQT year is tough, very tough and we have all been there. Every teacher I know has their story of being in tears at times. And it is a difficult time of year.... Long term, Christmas excitement, short days, everyone is tired.

You say time is an issue. What are you struggling with? Are you marking as briefly as you can while following the policy? Do you add quick comments during the lesson?

The children are restless in the afternoons- can you build in some more breaks, even just a quick concentration break. What age do you have?

Thank you I'm in year 2. I highlight the wok during lesson, but as much as I try I'm not finding time to write comments within the lesson . So by the end of of the day I've got so much to mark and I feel like I'm spending more time than I should writing comments.

The children never used to be like this before. I don't know whether it's because Christmas is close and they're just too exhausted.

Children are hideous in the run up to Christmas. Honestly. I think it's the sugar

Children are hideous in the run up to Christmas. Honestly. I think it's the sugar

So insightful I said it twice, apparently!

Won't be the last time. Don't worry about it. It's common to cry from stress as it relieves it so it is essentially a good thing!

What kind of targets do y2s understand? I teach older ones, so this may or may not be helpful, but things I've found help:

• stickers/stamps with common errors like "check for capital letters!" Or "always address both sides of the argument"

• read through the books as quick as poss ticking and flicking, writing a little list of common errors on a scrap of paper as you go. Number the common errors, then the next lesson kids look at their number, copy the relevant tgt, and then do it (so the lesson is planned too! Leaving time for wine/family/sleep etc)

• Mark for kids, not SLT (I say this as a member of SLT, and know it's easier said than done... But if the kids won't/can't use it, by god what is it for?! And on this, check out ofsted's most recent guidance on marking (TL:DR - don't do stupid amounts, we won't look for it any more)

• wiz a round in the lesson talking to them about their work. If you've got twatty SLT, get a stamp that says "verbal feedback given"

Hope that is vaguely helpful... Feel free to DM if you want to chat more about ways of coping. It's a bonkers but beautiful job.

This term is about 2 weeks too long! I hate it! The kids are tired, teachers are tired and it is a really hard job to keep the sparkle going right till the end of term! I hate marking, do the bare minimum that I can get away with. Writing comments in year two I feel is unnecessary - do they even read them, let alone act on them?! I cry at least once a week at the moment I have been teaching for 12 years! You are not alone. Claw your way to the end of term and then make sure you sleep a lot and be very lazy over Christmas. Sure you will be itching to be back then!

If it cheers you up, OP, today I got cross with two annoying boys running round at lunch time and shouted most indignantly YOU ... HAVE DISTURBED ... TEACHERS!

I'm in Y2 as well, and my class are definitely struggling with this time of year.

Look carefully at your marking policy and don't write long comments if you don't need to. For literacy, I look for two or three things each lesson depending on the focus e.g. conjunctions, expanded noun phrases. I note them with a tick if they're evident, or put a next step to include one of them if they're not. And that's it. For maths, it's usually only ticks and next steps. Plus I very often use the code 'VF' for verbal feedback. You say your school are supportive- ask another teacher if you can just flick through a few of their books and see how they're marking.

Babypythagorus thank you some useful tips. Some of them can read targets and respond it. I like the idea of stamps but unfortunately we don't use the at school.

When it comes to marking I think my main issue is that the majority of my placements last year were ks2 (5 and 6) and generally I feel much more confident in upper ks2. I've still got that mentality that I'm marking a year 5 child's book which is why I'm probably spending more time thinking about what comments to write.

Elanrode, that made me laugh, thank you

The next 2 weeks about survival - nothing more or less. Do whatever you need to do to get through the day. Keep enough structure so they don't climb the walls, but working on the basis that they are too wasted to do any worthwhile work, don't expect to actually teach them anything. Hang in there till Christmas when you can sleep lots and then reflect on how far both you and the children have come in a term. Then be ready to hit January with renewed enthusiasm.

These next two weeks are just about keeping the balls in the air until the holidays Everyone's the same, even if they're not showing it

Kids and teachers are struggling at secondary too!

I totally believe that Santa's naughty/nice list was invented purely to get parents through this hellish time of year.

Ask the other teachers what they have planned for their classes to get through till the end of term, they might well be slacking off a bit!

Hope you have a better day OP, we're all feeling it at this time of year. Sounds like you've had a really successful first term - think of something nice to do at home (or school) each day to get you to the end of term.

goingmadinthecountry
My day was much better thank you.

Really pleased to hear it. Not long to go! Hope you have a happy Thursday too.

Really glad to hear that adriana. Hang on in there- it sounds like you're doing really well.

too wasted to do any worthwhile work, don't expect to actually teach them anything

so utterly pointless for them to be in school - what an attitude!
poor kids

Mrsguy children learn a lot during Christmas plays, Carol singing Christmas art and craft, poetry, stories etc. Posters just meant serious new concepts in Maths can't be introduced right now.
Op just focus on getting through and remember you are not doing anything wrong, it's the time of year. Also l often feel children are getting worse and it's me getting tired. Hang in there. Introduce some new incentives for the run in to Christmas.