Teachers Are Jammy Devils - Aren't They?

Back to work blues

It is a truth pretty much universally acknowledged that teachers are jammy devils when it comes to holidays. Every July my normally supportive group of (non-teaching) friends turns upon me, unable to resist barbed comments concerning the sheer unfairness of six weeks continuous holiday, during which time they no doubt imagine me reclining on a chaise-longue delicately sipping cocktails. Come September, their smugness is palpable, as they gloat over the thought of my return to work.

Of course, going back to work does have its disadvantages. No-one enjoys the sound of a 6.30 alarm clock, particularly as the mornings become colder and darker. There is no longer the opportunity to swim serenely up and down the deserted pool at the gym or float around a half-empty supermarket while the rest of the world is at work: I must now take my chances at the weekends with everybody else. Apart from these rather obvious drawbacks though, I'm afraid I must confess that actually, I quite like going back to work.

First and foremost among the advantages of returning to work is the purchase of new stationery, particularly for English teachers who have entered the profession solely for this reason. Come September, my desk is fully equipped with notebooks and pads, preferably featuring some kind of animal, and obviously each with matching pen. Never mind that each of these pens will have been coveted, borrowed and then scarpered with by various students a couple of weeks into the term.

There is also the excitement of meeting the new intake of students. As a teacher in a sixth form college, nearly all of the faces I see in September are new to me, and apart from the obvious chore of learning all the names, this is one of the best bits of the job. What are the kids going to be like this year? Are they excited? Nervous? Intent on playing it cool? My job is to set the standard for the rest of the year: How I act with them now can determine how easy or how challenging my life will be for the next few months.

And how are last year's students getting on? Most of them already seem visibly more mature, striding about the college with the authoritative attitude that results from their new second-year status. Some of them are familiar to me from last year, whereas some faces are ones that I simply recognise from gingerly picking my way through them as they sit about the corridors.

The start of the Autumn term brings home to me like nothing else how each student is an individual, and although I may feel sad to wave goodbye to some of last year's classes, the new intake represents a whole new range of potential. Some of my lessons have the same content as last year, but each new class responds to them in a different way, coming up with their own ideas and (inevitably) their own problems. And, of course, the new students provide much-needed fresh topics for staffroom gossip and discussion.

So, all in all, the new school year isn't really so bad - although ask me again in November and I'll be happy to show you the calendar on which I am counting down the days until Christmas.