Thank goodness I’m a head. I really couldn’t hack it as a teacher any more. This isn’t because being a head is easy (it really isn’t), nor because I don’t think I’m a good teacher. It’s because teaching has changed so much since I swapped children’s reports for headteacher ones.
No, it’s not the curriculum, or actually anything to do with teaching, learning or behaviour. I don’t think I could hack it as a teacher any more because of the accountability.
It’s a no-brainer that teachers should be held accountable for learning. If you want to be an educator, but don’t think it’s fair that you should be responsible for your performance, try something else. It’s hyper-accountability that’s the problem. Why does everything nowadays have to be jacked up to 11? Why must teachers be made to care about everything, right now?
When I was a teacher, it was simple. You planned, you taught, you assessed. You then made sure the children all got on, while keeping parents reasonably informed. My, how things have changed.
The word ‘change’ has much to answer for. Education is very good at changing, when it should be better at evolving. Whenever there’s a change, the world of education seems to throw everything in the air and expect things to land fully formed as something new, exciting and fully implemented.
Take GDPR. OK, we were given a bit of notice on that one, but look how the profession reacted. Scaremongering hyperbole that had everyone panicking about whether you could even write children’s names on their workbooks any more. We seem unable to change gracefully, which puts far too much pressure on teachers already too busy with the day job.
Another irritant of hyperaccountability is the degree of public access teachers are exposed to. I’m not saying educators should be allowed to work in secret, but their professionalism is under attack by a 24-hour news service. A good proportion of parents now think it acceptable to email teachers directly at any time of day or night. What does that say about their respect for the profession? I know parents are busy, but so are teachers.
That’s why I couldn’t be a teacher today, but it’s also why I’m a head. I don’t advocate giving teachers’ emails to parents – they can contact teachers via the office. Nothing that urgent is ever put in an email. It might be important, but even at A&E you have to wait. My teachers are busy people, and one of my biggest aims is to minimise distractions. They’ll always strive to help, because they care, but they need to be in control of when and how.
My job is to control the changes that come at us, and I prefer to do that by taking my time and shielding teachers from the faff of unplanned implementation. I don’t mind them feeling the pinch of accountability, but don’t want them feeling the burn of hyper-accountability. Until that disappears, I won’t be returning to the classroom – I’m too busy making sure those that teach, can.
The writer is the headteacher of a UK primary school
