The marking stacks up, the need to make sure your tracking and data input is up to date, internal verification sampling, chasing non attenders, pastoral admin, this is just a snippet of the roles teachers play before they even get to think about planning and delivery of learning to students. Teacher workload is spoken about all the time but little seems to be done about this challenge. There have been initiatives and reports but has the finding of these made their way to the frontline? The huge increase in 2020 for digital online teaching has left teachers on their knees in many cases. But, could this move be the answer to reducing teacher workload and making the profession more sustainable?
I would describe teaching in the further education sector as constantly being in the path of a tornado. Tornadoes generally have wind speeds up to 110 mph. You can see them due to the condensation funnel they travel for a few miles and then disappear. This metaphor I believe is a good way to describe the ever changing landscape of FE, the new initiatives with some sticking and some disappearing after a few miles. This constant change, pressure and lack of time to adapt causes many teachers to take a long hard look at their jobs and go “is this really for me?”
Tornado alley is a term penned to parts of North America such as Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana where tornadoes occur most frequent. Teaching in FE is somewhat like living in one of these states, you know the weather can be unpredictable and at certain times of the year your home could incur damage or be destroyed thanks to mother nature. Although an extreme example, the pressure that FE teachers face at different times of the year is quite immense. This year the use of technology and blended learning has provided the latest tornado, but this one isn't going away and actually we need to learn to live with it.
Perhaps the biggest challenge we all face, not just teachers is a lack of perceived time. This has been dramatically increased this year due to the requirement to plan, teach and deliver online learning. But as a result how much innovation do you think has occurred? Teachers trying things they might never have tried before and potentially failing and trying something new again. Amazing. Technology really can be our extra pair of hands if we know what's out there and how we can leverage it to our advantage. Moving away from the fear and resistance to make it work properly and developing our knowledge working with it in partnership. The road isn't smooth and there will be lots of challenges.
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
Henry Ford
The celebration of the volume of innovation in my own opinion has been overlooked throughout 2020. There has been so much great adaptation and practice to the way we deliver learning it's like ten years rolled into one. So could this new found innovation and practices support teachers on managing their workload in the long term? I believe the answer has to be yes….. And I will tell you why.
When you learn to drive, let's be honest it's tough. Most of us would have been passengers in a car but there is nothing quite like getting behind the wheel for the first time. 10mph feels like you are driving a racing car; it's such a weird feeling. After years of driving it becomes second nature you don't have to think about what you are doing, your subconscious basically does the job. Have you had one of those journeys where you arrive at your destination and you remember nothing of the journey? At present many teachers find themselves at the learning to drive stage. We have gone through various amounts of lessons, we might have also completed our hazard perception and now we are looking forward to the test. Everything is a process, getting our heads around new ways of working, learning and living will of course take time, provide us many barriers and challenges but as a result help us grow. As with every new skill the key to mastery is consistent practice and self discipline. It is key we maintain the progress made as I believe the use of technology will have the greatest impact on making teacher workload sustainable.
If you have read any of John Maxwell's books on leadership you may have come across his uphill and downhill metaphor. Uphill is very hard, it's challenging and everyday we have to take a few steps in that direction, tackling head on the challenges before us. Downhill is easy, we can slide away with very little effort required. But if we slide down hill we lose all of our uphill progress. Now, for many, times are hard, it's a challenge we may even hate it, but it is forcing us to grow and develop. We must continue the uphill struggle, because when we get to the top the view is magnificent.
The next 12-18 months will be key to our uphill struggle. Teachers who are confident with digital tools are going to need to work with colleagues to support them and their upskill up the hill. The driving instructors to the learners. Together is better, learning is messy but many hands will make light work on the clear up. If the digital capabilities of teachers improves, it is my belief so will the ability to develop working practices and save time in administration and workload that occurs outside of the classroom. There is so much information and resources out there that there is almost too much. My advice to teachers would be to look at what you know and what you think would benefit you in your journey up the hill. Talk it over with a colleague, ask for help, open the door on your practice and reap the rewards.
The tornados will keep appearing in FE, who knows what the next ones might be, but over time we can predict, monitor and overcome these challenges. Working together is key and making sure we do not start sliding down the hill. Let's keep talking, working with one another, sharing our uphill struggles and keep moving towards the summit.
Thanks for reading.
