Displays are the Devil!
Alright, I have a bone to pick with the educational world. Maybe this is just my school, but why do we as teachers stress ourselves out to no end, stab ourselves with rogue staples, and double back stupid, fucking titles for hours on end?! What purpose does it serve?
Now, this is supposed to be my summer holiday, and for all of you sitting there who think that this is the perk of the job that is unfair to most, think again. Our summer holiday is spent organising our classrooms, purging shit we were too lazy to deposit to the correct resource room and doing our dreaded displays. Now, I’m sure loads of schools have reasonable expectations of their staff. Few pieces of student-made art here, maybe a ready-made poster there. Nope. Not my school. Our motto is ‘big and bold.’ This translates to ‘walls must be covered in excess, 3D displays to fill the room, the work itself is not at all done by the students but rather the teachers, all in an effort to impress Ofsted.’
As someone who did not grow up in this education system, I think this is absolutely ridiculous. If I remember correctly, in our primary schools, we had the time's tables printed out on the wall and maaaaaybe some art that we did in class. It didn’t matter if it was crap, but it was showed off and celebrated.
What message are we sending our staff when we promote the message that your classroom must look like fucking Disneyland in order to be considered a good teacher. The more ambitious a display, the more you care about your career- obviously!
What further message are we sending to our kids that their work isn’t good enough to go on our walls because of its imperfections. We are creating a cycle of perfectionism that will seriously mess with their self worth and value down the line. The fact that I’ve on multiple occasions have had children copy out pieces of writing that I made to put up on the wall instead of their own original work because I’m afraid it won’t be good enough.
Aren’t we supposed to be inclusive? Celebrate difference? Be a place to promote self-esteem and growth in our little humans? I can’t blame the powers that be entirely in our school, because they ultimately have those above them who think they know what Ofsted want. It’s this unusual pressure cooker that affects all facets of school life- all because of a fucking paper mache gladiator!
What I am trying to say is, I think that the pressure of perfectionism should be mitigated to save the mental health of teachers and students alike. Put down the chicken wire to create your life-size replica of the Gerkin and pick up a cup of chill-out instead. I’m speaking to you, head of MAT and Ofsted!
Rant over. Now, let me get back to making my mechanical Fionn McCool…
-Miss. Anonymity
