In defence of teacher training days

Every school holiday, I take a trip to the barbers. There is no time during term time, so I make sure I get my hair cut short enough to last about six weeks, until the next holiday.

So it was this February. My sideburns had taken on that brillo pad texture and I had developed an uncontrollable quiff that was drawing attention from the children in my class. It was time.

Hairdressers are great places to eavesdrop - not that I make a habit of doing it. It's just impossible to avoid the small talk of another punter in the barber's chair. It seems some people prefer to spill the mundane facts of their own life in minute detail rather than sit awkwardly for the 15-minute duration of a short back and sides.

On this particular trip, it quickly became apparent that the conversation I was unwillingly eavesdropping on was in fact the parent (let's call him Mr P) of a child in my class. Topic got onto school, and naturally my ears pricked up. It became evident that this particular gentleman (who hadn't recognised me - must have been the quiff) had issues with the school holiday system.

"What really annoys me  is the training days. We never had them when I was at school. Why do they have them? I don't agree with it. Teachers get too many holidays as it is."

Now I was in a dilemma...do I stand up and defend my profession? Or do I respectfully maintain my silence so as not to create a scene? Of course, I did the latter, and thought I'd write a blog instead!

Let's take the first point...training days. Why do we have them? Do we need them?

Well, yes Mr P. We do need them. This government, believe it or not, despite the underinvestment and woeful approach to teacher recruitment, wants our education system to be the envy of the world. That can only come through regular development and training of staff to sharpen our practice and inspire us in our work. If you, Mr P, had read the leaflet about the expectations we sent for your KS2 child, you would know that we are teaching them about subject-verb agreement, subordinating conjunctions and the perfect tense. And that's just the writing! Children are expected to do much more in 2016 than they were ten years ago. Consequently, much more is expected of the teachers.

How about this issue with holidays? Tricky one. Yes, it's certainly an attractive perk of the profession. We do get regular holidays where we can spend more time with our own families, but boy, do we need them! Imagine, Mr P, if you would, six hours daily with twenty children like yours but slightly different - all with different needs and demands; all with different home situations; all with different levels of academic ability. Imagine that the government told you that none of these children were up to scratch and it was up to you to get them where they needed to be - your salary depended on it.

That is the pressure cooker that builds throughout the term. On the Friday before the school holidays, the lid lifts and the pressure escapes. The relief is palpable. Teachers need the holidays. And before you get any ideas, Mr P, our holidays are not all spent lazing on beaches in some far flung corner of the world. More often than not, our holidays are times to gather our ideas and focus for the next term. I have spent almost each day of the February half term doing some form of school work. I have been into school for one day too. The only true 'break' a teacher gets is in the summer holidays. Six weeks is a lovely, relaxing and special time, and I am so glad of it. That said, it will only be five weeks, as I'll spend the final week getting my classroom ready for my next group of children.

And that is why I do my job. It's for the children. It's because I honestly believe, Mr P, that I can help your child, little P, to be the best he can be. I believe I can get him writing with subordinating conjunctions, and multiplying fractions in maths, And as for his handwriting, I'll sort that out too.

It's not for the holidays. It's certainly not for the money. It's for little P, and the rest of them. That's why each day of my job is a privilege and a pleasure.

I just wish sometimes that you, Mr P, and a few others would understand. We are not a glorified baby sitting service, We might just be the difference between whether your child will sink or swim through life.