Teacher's Manual

If we're honest, I think we've all said "they didn't teach us this bit during training!" And that has likely culminated in the entreprenurial brainwave that looked something like, "We should write a book about what it's really like!"

Well my friends, that is exactly what Omar Akbar has done, and he very kindly sent me a copy to read. And it packs a punch. 

The (Un)Official Teacher's Manual is a frank and truthful guidebook that will honestly lead you through every step of this often brutal career. While I won't endorse the occasional bad language used, there's absolutely no denying that you will be nodding in agreement with every page you read.

While you may not have lived some of the experiences it coaches you though, you will certainly have heard of someone that has done. You will certainly have discussed every scenario written in this book with someone at some point. Until now, the suggestions in this book have remained unwritten, yet persistently whispered.

Key chapters include:

• advice on getting the most from your school's monitoring regime,
• frank considerations for when seeking a promotion,
• relatable thoughts on dealing with workplace bullying.

I'll leave you to peruse the rest of the chapters yourself. Ideal for almost every stage of the journey in teaching, this book will open your eyes to the experiences of others. By this I mean, alongside offering advice, it's also useful for even the peachiest of school leaders to gather a sense of the behaviour of staff in other schools, to forward plan and prevent future difficulties. 

Thank you so much to Omar for sending me a copy; I'd highly recommend it.