'Love and hope are hard to maintain when new demands from governments and schools leadership rain heavily into classrooms.'
Class acts: Anne Watson says teachers need support
‘Teachers are at the front line of social and health problems.’
For many years I educated teachers in a university. I was delighted to find that, for most applicants, the drive to be a teacher was love – love of working with young people, love of learning, love of a subject, and a desire to work in a nurturing and optimistic atmosphere of hope. The idea that a teacher would be able to ‘give back’ was often mentioned.
It used to be assumed that the rewards of such a job would outweigh exhaustion. Giving oneself physically, socially, intellectually, psychologically and emotionally to younger people ought to be meaningful and affirming. But it can also be a very negative experience.
What goes wrong? These days I see that some schools, and chains of schools, have taken the desire to love, and to give, and transformed them into service – but the service of institutions and political policies rather than children and colleagues. Some heads of school chains earn fabulous salaries, while other teachers reach into their own pockets to buy breakfast for hungry children.
Teachers are at the front line of social and health problems, including mental health, while their own work/life balance could be awry. But the use of creative arts and outdoor experiences, which lift horizons from the stress of formal study, is limited by funding constraints. Love and hope are hard to maintain when new demands from governments and schools leadership rain heavily into classrooms. There can be frustration, despair and a sense of loss – or even, sadly, a sense of failure. The lifelong accumulation of wisdom that gives deep service to a community is now rare, even though for many teachers that was their self-image when they trained.
There is some light, however. There are schools where love and care still thrive; where smiles and talk are welcomed rather than ignored; where genuine attention is paid to all learners. There are teachers who can still draw strength from the ethics and care that brought them in at the start of their careers. And there are teachers whose faith keeps them going, whether that be faith in the transcendant qualities of their work, faith in Divine guidance, or faith that without service they are somehow less than they could be. This is the same kind of faith that supports Friends in the NHS, in charities, in social work, in prisons.
Gerry Winnall, a member of the Quaker Values in Education group, says: ‘Schools are places where we are determined to do our best for the children but we also have so many other demands asked of us. Our Quaker values are often challenged through this busyness, which can often mean we have little time left to nurture our own well-being, or meet with people who understand.’ There is certainly a role for Friends here. Gerry Winnall and Jenni Back are going to host monthly Zoom meetings for Friends who work in schools. These will be a place to share, worship, and talk informally. They start on 2 October. Please spread the word!
For details of the Zoom visit https://qvine.org.uk/contact-us.
