There has been a teachers’ strike today and technically as I am a member of the teaching union that’s been on strike, I suppose I should have been on strike too. However, as a trainee teacher I get free membership of all of the teaching unions and none of the others took strike action so on balance, more of me shouldn’t have been than should. Does that make sense? Anyway, no-one in our school went on strike and everything was very much as normal – if I can be any judge of that after three days.

Teachers in this country feel undervalued. They are constantly being torn apart by stories about how rubbish they are in one way or another. The latest is the “scandal” that only 31% of primary teachers have any level of qualification in languages. Given that no-one can possibly be an expert in everything, it seems like a completely pointless non-story to me. Anyway, the point is that we (our society) think that we can treat teachers like dirt and yet we still expect the brightest and the best people to want to teach our children. Tell me how we square that circle? Do we want the best for our children or not? We have a choice. You see when teachers feel valued and like important parts of society, you’re more likely to find that the brightest and the best people put themselves forward to do the job. That’s true in countries like S Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. There, if you say you are a teacher, instead of being reviled, you are revered. Teachers have status and credibility. Surprise, surprise – in these countries, children are the highest achieving in the world in all of the key subjects. Do we think this is coincidence?

Today I’ve been struggling with my emotions about this job. I’m shocked and shaken by how important it has become to me that I succeed at it. Each moment spent in a classroom is a complex mix of challenge, fear and utter, exquisite elation. Three days in and these children feel like “home”…strike a light!