On teacher-bashing
(When it came to writing about teacher-bashing, I laboured over what tone to take, or to whom I ought to be addressing myself. The subject matter, which pertains to my career and therefore my entire sense of self, has incited in me a whole host of emotions, including and not limited to anger, frustration, annoyance, shame, and sadness. Then I thought, actually, I am not making myself smaller for other people's sense of comfort while it is my profession that is being ridiculed on social media and in casual conversations by people who have never been in my shoes. Last week's blog talked of leaning into discomfort, which in this case is my fear of putting people’s noses out of joint or ‘sounding like a martyr’, because by embracing the pain and awkwardness that comes with being vulnerable, I choose to let my true self be seen, and that is my aim today.) I didn’t always want to be a teacher. Infact, the idea repulsed me, and I eye-rolled at anyone for whom teaching was part of th...