I wonder how many teachers can match my experience last term as an agency supply teacher? During that period I taught in 10 schools in four cities. At times I felt like a tightrope walker without a safety net, no more so than when I taught drama in an inner-city school.
There were 30 kids in each class. Their favourite trick was to sit on the seats and manoeuvre them at great speed round the studio, in a scaled-down version of the Monaco Grand Prix. Those without a vehicle screamed their encouragement.
Later I assisted a teacher who went through her script regardless of the fact that she was being ignored and that the class was in a state of uproar. After class I said that the levels of stress she was experiencing must surely be affecting her personality to which she replied “I have no personality”.
I was asked if I’d be interested in taking drama regularly. I declined - as I still have a personality.
Brian McCusker lives in York
