What is the most annoying thing you can say to a teacher? There are plenty of candidates, from myriad versions of that timeless classic, “It must be great to get the whole summer off and not think about work”, to passive-aggressive digs along the lines of that hoary old putdown, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach”.
Another gets trotted out at this time of year: the suggestion that nothing much happens in the last few days of school before a holiday. It’s one that we’ve heard earlier than usual this time around, sparked by the news last week that, as part of Scotland’s Covid-19 response, the school Christmas holidays could be extended at either end.
Perhaps fuelled by the knowledge that schools in some parts of the country were not due to break up until their pupils got tantalisingly close to Christmas on 23 December - and all the distracting excitement that entails - we’ve been hearing the refrain, “Well, they don’t do anything in the last week anyway” (or its more specific variant, “All they do is stick on a film” ).
Erm. Where to begin?
A lot happens as the clock runs down on any term. Yes, despite the novelty jumpers and tinselly accoutrements, teaching professionals remain, believe it or not, professionals. There is a whole load of work to get through in those few days - just think of all those secondary students with prelims looming in January, for example - and that is truer than ever in this uncertain year.
Maybe they will play the odd festive-themed game or spend a leisurely hour slapping glitter and glue on to a DIY bauble, but a skilled teacher can make that an educational experience. In any case, does every single moment in a classroom have to be “educational” ? Why are the expectations of what goes on in classrooms often so austere?
We’ve seen, at the end of this year of Covid, that there’s a desire to embrace Christmas and throw up the decorations early. Don’t teachers and pupils deserve an opportunity to wind down, too, after a start to the school year like no other? And what if they do just stick on a scratchy DVD of Elf or Nativity! - isn’t there something to be said for seeing your teacher in a different light, for sharing an experience not tied to prescriptive exam criteria or learning goals?
Let’s also not forget that, for some pupils, school is the safest place they know, or perhaps the only place where they know for sure that they will be fed. Reducing the number of days on which school opens will not be done lightly: the continuity of school is not just about maintaining attainment levels, but far more besides.
We should draw back from sniffy comments about the end of term and see the bigger issue they point to: the mistaken assumption of so many that they are experts in what a school does - the tendency to pontificate about teaching in a way that just does not happen with most other professions. Teacher pay, teacher holidays, teacher practice: all are fair game for the wildly misinformed hot takes of those who think that, because they went to school several decades ago, they know all about school.
Teachers don’t become teachers to get plaudits, but they would like a little more recognition of their skill and expertise, not to mention a level of dedication that has never been on clearer display than it has this year. The last day before the Christmas holidays may not be the most intense that a pupil ever experiences, but this remains true: whether the focus is Hamlet or Home Alone, teachers’ commitment to their pupils is a constant.
@Henry_Hepburn
This article originally appeared in the 4 December 2020 issue under the headline “Does every single moment of a lesson have to be ‘educational’?”
