A teacher can play many roles in their lifetime. The ancients used to rever their educators, with many historical societies sending their children off to live with teachers for years. Teachers thus played the role of parent, guide and educator, all in one. The modern student may not live with their teacher, but the modern teacher’s role isn’t vastly different to their predecessors – only the context has changed.

“If kids come to us from strong, healthy functioning families, it makes our job easier. If they do not come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job more important.” – Barbara Colorose

Much of  a teacher’s job involves observing: recognising those who need a helping hand and those who need a patient ear. Colorose’s words resonate with many teachers who reach out to children with dysfunctional backgrounds. There are teachers in the world who work in war-torn countries, and those who teach in remote parts of the world where children struggle to eat. Some teachers manage classrooms bursting with boisterous children, and some spend hours and hours a week on lesson plans to stay ahead of schedule – only to have to start all over again when the format changes without notice. There are also teachers dedicated to working with children with learning difficulties. Each of them are equally important, and we’ve put together a list of 8 aspects of a teacher's life to acknowledge their important contributions to education.

1.  Parenting. Most kids spend  three quarters of their waking hours in school with their teachers. Many teachers therefore take on several  responsibilities associated with being a parent, whether it’s the simple things – such as teaching children good manners and respect – or the more complicated ones, such as looking out for their physical and mental well-being or keeping an eye out for hidden signs of distress.

2. Managing patience. Teachers tend to run a daily marathon in terms of patience. This doesn’t just apply to the students, though ‒ teachers have to deal with ever-changing state, educational and school policies; they have to cope with the possibility of sacrificing yet another weekend to lesson planning, they have to accept that there’s no space in the budget for the school trip they spent weeks planning; they have to deal with parental expectations… The list goes on.

3. Multitasking. All teachers juggle multiple tasks every single day. Primary teachers, in particular, have to teach several subjects, which means extensive lesson planning along with huge amounts of marking and feedback. Often, this results in teachers covering subjects or areas that they have little to no experience in. Which takes us to the next point…

4. Learning on the go. Teaching a subject requires you to learn first: no teacher is born with a knowledge bank that stretches from photosynthesis to classroom pedagogy. Researching the subjects to be taught involves a lot of study  and continuing professional development (CPD) sessions.

5. Protector. A role most people often don’t associate with teachers, and yet many teachers are natural protectors of their students: they not only take care of their students’ intellect and mental wellbeing, but also their safety. In the simplest scenarios, this involves making sure students cross the road safely on a class trip and wear appropriate safety equipment during science experiments.  Unfortunately, sometimes this responsibility can stretch to safeguarding a student from school bullies or even from an abusive parent.

6. Low pay, high pressure. Ask any teacher and you will learn that they work far more than their scheduled hours and way beyond their job descriptions – all without overtime. They bear the pressure from state policies, educational reforms, school policies, parental expectations and their own personal lives. Add this to the fact that most teaching jobs are notoriously poorly paid, and you can see that finding success as a teacher is often a labour of love and determination.

7. The power to change lives. Katherine Johnson – the woman responsible for manually calculating the trajectory of the first spaceship launch, and many further NASA missions – was influenced by her school geometry teacher and her college professor. Both encouraged her and guided her towards success in life. Luckily, Johnson is just one example of many. Studies continue to show the profound influence teachers have on their students when it comes to choosing careers.

8. Little glory. Let’s face it, there are no accolades to being a teacher. There are no songs sung, no trumpets blown, and the movies don’t even come close to what it’s really like to be a teacher. And yet it’s one of the most influential jobs in the world. The next time you question if it’s all worth it, though, do remember you have a whole office full of people at Twig World who are always rooting for you!

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