Teacher’s Drama: A Teacher Doesn’t Just Teach

“Teaching? Ah it is not so complicated!”, I thought naïvely.

When I became a teacher, I had expected it to be pretty much straightforward. Teach, correct the books, and come back home. This is where I made my first mistake, the sheer amount of multi-tasking that went into it boggled me.

At anytime I was juggling two to three tasks at a time. For most new teachers, this multi-tasking is what proves to be daunting. Answering the intercom, as well as making sure the children are completing the activity as well as taking care of a child with a papercut, there is a lot that is happening in the classroom.

Let me tell you about some of the more interesting tasks we handle other than teaching.

1. Putting Out Fires

This is not about literal fires, thank God. This is about the figurative fires that take place within a classroom.

Any place surrounded by children tends to lead to one small argument or the other, this is to be expected. They are children, they think on a much different scale than us. What might be a small problem for us, tends to be a huge problem for them.

So, imagine you are busy explaining a sum on the board and suddenly Anne, who likes to keep her books neat, goes, “Teacher, Jane scribbled on my book!”, and starts crying.

Now, at times the assistant might help but at this point the entire class is more interested in the argument rather than the lesson.

There were also situations when a simple misunderstanding leads to the involvement of parents. The most amusing of scenario is when the children manage to resolve it amongst themselves, yet the parents are disgruntled towards one another.

My advice is, don’t get complacent. The moment we do, the fires begin.

2. Events Planner

I was never one for parties or crowded places in general, it was surprising how quick that changed when I started work. There were times when I had to plan 4 different events within the same month.

Me and my assistant spent hours holed away in the classroom, planning during our free period. What costume should they wear? What decorations? Will they enjoy this? Can we do this in this way?

It was exhausting as well as exciting. The cheer on their faces was well worth the effort.

The only hard part was juggling this alongside our daily teaching tasks. Running here to get the decorations then running there to complete the corrections. It was an adventure indeed. The only thing we can do is plan, plan, and plan ahead!

3. Game of Teachers

Like any workplace, a school too has its own set of drama and politics. It is human nature, to compete and to achieve. But at times we do tend to get carried away. The best example is during events, when we all try to make sure our classrooms look the best.

We try to work together but competition does lead to hurt feelings. This is something we must learn to deal with and work around.

Everyone has opinions and everyone likes to be heard, but this is when we forget to listen. Honesty is the best policy true, but a little bit of patience and kindness goes a long way.

There are times when we feel overwhelmed and underappreciated. Those are the times where we must remind ourselves to take it one step at a time and work together. Teamwork is key after all.

4. Impromptu Speeches

This something I do frequently. At times, the students get carried away or some competition is being held within the school for which we encourage the students. This leads us teachers to breakout into a speech that would rival a kings.

I recall once one of my students had pushed another student. I spoke nearly 5 minutes on safety and kindness. My student simply looked at me and replied, “Ok.”.

I try to curb this from time to time, mostly because students shift their focus so quickly. So, ranting on for an hour doesn’t really impart anything useful to them. If it’s anything more than a minute long, remember they are worlds away already.

5. Cake, Cupcake & All You Can Bake

Cooking is a skill I had never mastered. But now I can confidently claim that I am a chef. And I was a person that could have burnt water.

This occurred when in my first year, I was informed that we were having a baking day, in which we had to help the girls to bake all sorts of goodies.

I could already envision myself, burning the entire school down in some macabre manner.

To avoid this, I spent quite a while scouring the net on “How to” videos for baking, I also had wonderful colleagues who guided me throughout the process.

It was a wonderful experience, something I’d definitely recommend.

Fair warning though, do not keep the cookie dough near the students, they will eat it.

These are some of the adventures you will face during your course as a teacher, there is a lot more that happens side by side, but you get used to it. This is what makes it fun I believe. There are no monotonies in this profession. So don’t let the initial exhaustion get to you, keep moving. It gets a lot easier, and you will always find someone to support you.