Mid – Winter Blues
Image: Annie Spratt
Anamika Mishra“A good teacher is like the rising sun that comes to fill the empty and dark minds with the light of the education.”
The last two weeks of school holidays have offered some respite from the early mornings and late nights that many teachers experience during the term. The workload of Small School Principals often carries over the two-week holidays. The dual roles of teaching and managing the school as Principal is complex, demanding and hard work.
The language used to describe the role of Small School principals has flexed with in between government and departmental policy, and successful Union campaigns. Some might remember terms such as Teacher-in-Charge (TIC) or Teaching Principal. It is easy to think of smaller schools to be less complex due to the size of the school. Like most aspects of education, it is not that simple.
While politicians might dance around at the Mid-Winter Ball, teachers are dodging coughs, sneezes, and sniffles. On top of winter’s dropping temperatures, classrooms are heating up in a mix of body heat and air conditioning. How teachers manage their own sick leave and family leave to care for sick family members is another dimension to the work of teachers and school leaders.
Report writing season is beginning to swing into the workload. It is often reported that parents really want to know if their child is happy and has friends. It is important to measure and report academic progress. Children who are happy at school and has friends are most likely to be engaged with learning.
It would be interesting to poll teachers to see which school Term is the most challenging in when thinking about the mix of workload and seasonal impacts.