When I think of teachers’ professionalism, a past headteacher’s comment still resonates with me. After a gruelling autumn term, she praised her exhausted colleagues for “keeping up the act of being a good teacher all day”.
She hit the nail on the head – staying in that professional zone for hours on end is no small feat. This sentiment recently came back to mind while discussing Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2011) with a group of ECTs.
Perhaps we are best to heed the advice of Irish-American writer Frank McCourt, who quipped: “You’re starting your teaching career, and it isn’t an easy life. I know. I did it. You’d be better off as a cop. At least you’d have a gun or a stick to defend yourself.”
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