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The Secret Teacher

The Secret Teacher is our anonymous blog where teachers can tell it like it is.
• Would you like to be the next Secret Teacher? Got an idea for an anonymous blog post about the trials, tribulations and frustrations of school life? Get in touch on the following email TeacherNetwork@theguardian.com

June 2018

  • Three smiling children dressed as clowns

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: teaching children without play was soul-destroying

    After spending time in early years, the focus on assessment and structured learning in years 1 and 2 came as a shock

May 2018

  • school children working in a classroom history class lesson

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: the emphasis on British history is depriving students of balance

  • Teacher teaching children in classroom

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: I hated teaching – until I realised my school was the problem

  • Portrait of mature male teacher speaking to female during training course, with blackboard in the background

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: the exodus of older teachers is draining schools of expertise

  • Close up teenage girl friends using mobile phones

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: students need PSHE guidance but I'm not equipped to give it

April 2018

  • Mini robots<br>EWG9E1 Mini robots

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: I fear for the wellbeing of students under pressure to perform

    My school is working young people into the ground, and failing to give them the support they need to deal with mental health issues
  • Penzance pinned on a map of UK<br>H7XAJH Penzance pinned on a map of UK

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: my students know all about exams but little of the wider world

    We’re so focused on tests that we’re neglecting to expose pupils to ideas and experiences beyond the classroom
  • ‘To me, it feels like a piece of the jigsaw is missing - my school looks for excuses to avoid focusing on outcomes.’

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: my school dumbs down learning for students with special needs

    Young people with special educational needs should be given plenty of support to improve academically. They’re not getting it

March 2018

  • Silence<br>G0NRMW Silence

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: my school's endless rules do more harm than good

    Students are often removed from class for the smallest misdeed, but we’re focusing on the wrong things.
  • colorful letters. childhood education teaching.<br>G2DYGR colorful letters. childhood education teaching.

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: we're setting dyslexic children up to feel like failures

    Pupils with additional needs are at a disadvantage in tests, and we don’t have the resources to give them the help they need

    • The secret teacher
      Secret Teacher: I was undermined for a decade. Now I can call it bullying

    • The secret teacher
      Secret Teacher: the focus on exams is failing GCSE students

    • The secret teacher
      Secret Teacher: sensationalist headlines can do real damage to schools

February 2018

  • Middle-aged woman looks at phone on hiking trip

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: social media makes it impossible to switch off from work

  • STwo young boys play football in a run down street with boarded up houses

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: I'm faced with the realities of child poverty every day

  • Teacher and students in laboratory

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: supply agencies are giving us a raw deal

  • Young female teacher at her desk marking students' work

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: I feel stuck in a profession that's making me ill

January 2018

  • Exam room hall with lines of desks

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: education should be driven by evidence, not political whims

    Teachers need well-researched policies and methods backed up by evidence. Too often we get the latest ideological hobby horse
  • A black male teacher marks essays

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: the UK has a complex racial history. Why aren’t we teaching it?​

    Recent controversy over an H&M advert left my students struggling to make sense of the issue. The curriculum must do more to reflect the histories of ethnic minorities
  • Teacher ticks a checklist in a PE class

    The secret teacher
    Secret Teacher: why can't my school just trust us to do our job?

    Strict directives and endless inspections add strain to an already stressful role and rob us of any autonomy. This must stop
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