Practise being optimistic.
Even if you don't fully believe it just yet, try making your thoughts benefit you, rather than creating further barriers. If there is trouble brewing, you know that making a conscious choice to make it worse isn't going to help. Practise optimism so that it will eventually become habit; make a choice that seeks to improve a situation. At first, it might not remove the barrier, but at least it won't add an extra one! 

Celebrate your success.
In a game of balance, it's vital that you celebrate what you do well! Keep realistic goals and do a little something each day to help you towards them. Celebrate each step you take! Each little action will add a sense of control amongst the chaos that is our lives. Enjoy the positive relationships you are lucky to have and use the support network you have around you.

Embrace failure.
As part of a healthy mind, know that ups come with downs. In fact, it's the downs that make you appreciate the ups! Without them, would we even feel joy in the first place? Use challenges as an opportunity to achieve yet another thing! Don't seek drama because this life is stressful enough as it is. Aim to learn the difference between a destructive reaction and a mindful response; they often have entirely opposite outcomes.

Many emotions are perfectly natural responses, but it's only through open lines of communication that we are going to learn about which emotions come to us all, and hopefully generate a general consensus about 'how much is too much?', enabling us to identify when we need more targeted support using the growing range of resources available. Good luck, friends: you've got this!

Looking back now, the mistakes were clear:

• Expecting a 'bubbly' class to work in pairs calmly, when I hadn't even prepared them suitably for working alone, was a ridiculous thing to do.
• Asking them to draw in a Maths lesson was far too exciting a task for a group that were, so far, unable to complete the most basic task to a reasonable level of success.
• Not supplying a suitable number of shapes meant that many 'finished' quickly, and I didn't yet have the management skills to arrange a further challenge.
• Asking them to use a carroll diagram should have been a whole separate lesson, and by using the ability groups I had back then, I ended up with tables of no clue, and tables of too much clue, about what to do, with no adjustments for achieving in any direction!

All considered, I'm so pleased it happened. It was a necessary step in my journey that I most certainly learnt from. All mistakes are. 

When browsing through various feeds that we so happily gorge on, likely torturing ourselves, please remember that it might not be all you see. They too would have had a bad day, a terrible lesson. Their airy-fairy quotes and wise tweets may have got a tonne of likes, but they still have a pile of marking they're ignoring, or are nervous about a meeting tomorrow.

We all have imperfections.

One more?
Just this week, undeniably the prompt for this post, I came to the haunting realisation that I was trying to cover too much, too soon. For those in the know, I've gone to Year 6, from Year 5. It's a blessing and a curse, because you're aware of the exact coverage of the previous year: often a topic of contention for the new teacher. However, it became clear to both my Year Partner and I, that we have expected far too much in the first two and a half weeks of our time together. An extensive list of Success Criteria for our first pieces of writing, should have at least been revision on the itemised features first, before any expected application. I fear I've skimmed some important steps. I actually sat my class down to apologise for the pace at which we have been moving, finally taking note of their panicked expressions. This isn't to say, however, that they haven't risen to the challenges set. I still believe in high expectations, and have been exceptionally proud of their efforts. It was a lapse in judgement as I moved away from my fundamental beliefs around teaching in a stepwise, specific manner to ensure understanding over an obsession with coverage. Process over performance always. 

4. Prioritise
Although there are many jokes about the laziness of students these days, you must understand that you're within a certain percentage of the population because you are deemed to have the capability to achieve something they're offering you. Do everything within your power to reduce the prevalence of such stereotypes. Choose the right time to knuckle down, and tell people you've done so. We know that an embarrassing club story is usually more entertaining, but don't put yourself down by pretending that's all you do. Celebrate the library too!

5. Laugh
Even if you go on to further study, you're only going to do this for the first time once! Make the most of it, both professionally and personally. Make close friends from all walks of life and create memories that you'll laugh about forever. Enjoy yourself and tell people all about it. It'll be difficult at times, because I firmly believe, if you're doing it right, your university days will actually be the busiest time of your life. For now at least...

The fourth year of teachmrn.com is upon us, so it's time to show you my classroom! Due to some back end programming, last year's post never reached you, but you can catch the previous years here and here.

• I usually have a base colour, because I believe you can change the colour scheme by what you add over the top (plus it means you only back the boards once and the focus is on the work).
• There is usually some kind of colour coding. This year, I have borders that match the colour of the respective exercise book.
• I have tried lots of different ways of organising the books. After keeping them on a shelf in my first ever room, falling all over the place, I quickly sought different storage options. This year, I'm going for my favourite; magazine files split into their teams. I've always found this makes distribution more efficient. It also means that different tables can work on different things more easily, and it breaks marking workload down if they're in easily countable segments - you can fetch a quick slice of books at break time without losing track of where you got to.
• I have ALWAYS, regardless of age group, had a carpet area. I don't understand how teachers cope without one. Yes, I understand they grow, but I believe you need different kinds of spaces without moving furniture constantly. Sometimes you need them close, sometimes you need them far away. Sometimes you need to pause them, and that carpet area increases the likelihood of them paying attention instead of being too distant. Equally, sometimes you need them there in front of you; that emotional connection and eye contact is paramount. Inputs, specific groups for misconceptions, reading together, etc.
• I've always got a mixture of working walls and display walls. While a lot of this is often policy driven, I do think you need clear space for the prompts, models and interactivity, alongside area for the finished products, the celebration and so on.
• I've never really started with lots on the walls already. I believe that whatever the room looks like on Day One, is forgotten by Day Two; it's the changes that they notice. For this reason, I've always started very plain, and built the room up as we go, especially for the working walls. This way, there is a point of specific reference for everything we do. I understand the counterargument that 'I don't like blank walls', but I just don't understand how you expect people to pinpoint something easily if it's already amongst a chaotic puzzle of, so far unlearnt, information - even the 'reminders' need re-teaching.  

The finished product (although is a classroom EVER really complete?) is below. But one question remains, how long will the desk stay tidy?

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice? 
I was lucky enough to make a great friend at work. We were both NQTs and we started on the same day at the same school in adjacent classrooms. We used to have a daily debrief where essentially we would have a massive moan about everything – from photocopier woes to difficult students. Although it wasn’t, perhaps, a productive use of our time (we could have been marking), it was really important to be able to offload to someone who knew exactly who and what you were talking about. Once a problem was off my chest, I was less likely to think about it when I got home. A huge asset to my professional life this year has been @Team_English1 on Twitter. It was recommended by a friend and it has, honestly, changed my life. The generosity of teachers in this network has amazed me. The resources I have gained have saved me hours and hours of planning time and I am a better teacher for it.
In my opinion, the worst part of the profession is lack of time. There simply is not enough time to do the job during normal working hours. I don’t work long hours because I am put under pressure by management or Ofsted or because I am a perfectionist (believe me… I am the very definition of ‘winging it’). I work long hours simply to get the job done.
There are teachers who manage to avoid working at home (and I believe that some subjects are more labour intensive than others) but the hours we work are unsustainable. There are small adjustments that managers and school leaders can make to reduce workload but I believe the issue is primarily financial. Teaching and learning would improve exponentially if teachers’ contact time was reduced and we were able to spend more time planning and preparing feedback. Unfortunately, schools are so financially stretched that this is impossible. 

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your wellbeing? 
In my fourth year of teaching, I was completely burnt out. I was exhausted and it was affecting my health. I was working every weekend and also in the evenings. My solution was to search for other jobs because I just couldn’t sustain the hours. The problem was, I didn’t really want another job. As I’ve already preached – I love teaching.
So, I decided to go part time. This was not an easy decision. First of all, I was worried about money. I did some rudimentary maths and worked out that if I went to a 0.8 contract, in my fifth year of teaching I’d be earning roughly the same as I’d earned in my first year of teaching. If I’d managed on that salary then, I thought I could manage on that now. Another concern was, well, embarrassment. In fact, I was so embarrassed that when I put in my part-time request, I made up a lie – that I was going part time to support my partner’s business. Looking back, I should have been more honest. I would recommend anyone in a similar position to talk to your school’s management about how you’re feeling so that they can support you. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, then others will be too and management need to know this.
Despite my concerns, reducing my hours has changed my life.
The question everyone always asks, is ‘do you work on your day off’? Of course I do. In fact, that’s when I do all my school work. What do I get in return? My evenings and weekends back. I know there will be teachers shouting at the screen as they read this. I agree with you. The fact that I had to go part time in order to do my job is ridiculous. I’ve been told that part time teachers should do nothing on their day(s) off – that by working on these days, part-time workers are actually responsible for the pressures put on full time teachers. My response? If that's the case, then full time teachers should do nothing at evenings and weekends. It’s unfair to blame part-time teachers for unfair expectations placed on all teaching staff. We're all in this together.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up? 
I know that reducing hours isn’t for everyone. I agree that teachers and school leaders should come together collectively to address the problems of workload. In the meantime, if anyone would like to chat about going part time, feel free to DM me on Twitter (@HannahHGO). 

Sum up our profession in 5 words. 
I wouldn’t do anything else. 

Perhaps it's a rite of passage, most often a series of bad moods catching each other on the wrong day, during what is most likely the least comfortable period of your life. Choosing to take offence because we believe the world owes us something. Either way, it certainly builds a thicker skin, rather than playing victim to the basic, eventual life-limiting, ignorance of others. But out of the many experiences you often hear of, my secondary school was the best place to be. We were well cared for by everyone around us. Very much a community.

It was here that I made my best choices up to that point. For A-Levels I chose subjects that practically ignored all academia. I went for creative, personality building subjects. I went for subjects that would force me to speak in front of people. I went for subjects that encouraged group work and portfolios, the clear building of progress over time. McLuckie, Brown (who became Beecham), Hobbs and Collins. In many ways I owe you the most. 

Primary is the basics, the essentials that we all need. When those are down correctly, secondary builds on that and helps you focus on a direction. You most definitely, alongside my beloved friends - whether we have remained in touch since then or not - taught me to be comfortable with myself, to live without limits. And when that bit was right, academic success and my future were set.