Collaborative Post
Let’s face it, parents – our possible career paths are limited. After all, as well needing to be out at certain times on weekdays, you’re restricted by not being about to work weekends or holiday periods. You probably wouldn’t even employ yourself!
This can make it tricky when the time comes for you to return to work. Sadly, as your kids take to the classroom and their growing appetites push your budgets, there will come a time when you need to secure a position again. Obviously, all parents achieve this goal in different ways but, more often than you would think, you’ll find that getting involved with your kid’s school should be all it takes to secure a position that fits your requirements.
After all, schools operate on…well, school hours. Add to that the fact you wouldn’t have to work holidays or weekends, and you’re onto a clear winner. You could even go as far as studying for such a role online alongside your parenting responsibilities through Bradley University or others like them. Talk about finally finding your way through that post-parental slump!
The only trouble is that your kids might not be too pleased about the prospect. They get enough of you at home, after all, and school is supposed to be where they get their independence. Suddenly, you announce that you’re on playground duty next week. What do you think their reaction will be?
Luckily, despite potential downfalls, many parents do manage to teach or otherwise work at their children’s schools. And, we’ve put together a survival guide to help you achieve the same.
Ensure you’ll never teach your child
For equality purposes, most headteachers will avoid situations in which you’ll directly have to deal with your child in school, but you should also take steps towards this. Okay, you may still come across your youngster in the playground or lunch hall, but you can limit contact where possible.
Admittedly, this is a more straightforward goal to achieve if you’re working as a teaching assistant or similar. In that instance, your manager can assign you to a classroom away from wherever your child happens to be. Even if you become a full-time teacher, though, carefully choosing an age group that’s below your child’s level means you’ll never face that conflict of interest. In fact, if you’re working in a large school setting, this arrangement could even see you avoiding your child altogether.
Make space for both of you
Along roughly the same lines, you’re going to need to make space for the both of you. After all, school is where your kids find their independence, while work is where you finally find yourself outside of that ‘mum’ role. This is still possible when you’re in the same building, but only if you make efforts to create space that lets it happen.
For instance, you may want to eat your lunch in the staff room rather than the lunchroom. And, of course, you should find some outside spots that don’t trample on your child’s regular hangouts. Try, too, to communicate with your colleagues as yourself, rather than as ‘Sophie’s mum.’ This can be a surprisingly tricky goal to achieve to start with, especially if you were given the role because of your parental activities. But, if you stick with this and make sure to talk about subjects besides your kids all the time, you should soon find you’re able to flourish in the workplace. And, you should never underestimate how refreshing that can feel.
Resist the urge to have a nose
All the above said, your efforts will quickly slide down the drain if you fall foul to taking sneaky peaks at your youngster as they go about their day. We know that it’s tempting to ‘see your child in their natural environment’ as it were, and this may even be the first glimpse you’ve had of their friendship group. But, remember how vital boundaries are going to be to making a success of this.
Your child certainly won’t be impressed if you suddenly start mentioning friends they’ve never introduced you to. And, God forbid that they catch you slouching around the corner at any stage! This is a significant breach of privacy and is likely the reason your child resisted this idea in the first place. On top of which, feeling like you’re forever breathing down their neck could hinder their development in more ways than you realise.
That’s not fair, and it’s an issue you need to overcome by just rising above those impulses. We know that it’s hard and that you just want the best for your little pride and joy. But, the best most definitely isn’t a mum who follows them around their school playground!
Respect colleague boundaries
Along the same lines, you mustn’t take advantage of your in-house position to get the gossip on how your child’s progressing/any issues they’re having. This can, of course, be tricky, especially if a colleague that you’re close to begins teaching them. But, no one is going to thank you for pushing those boundaries, not least the colleague in question. In fact, give in to these impulses, and you’ll soon find that all the other teachers avoid you, and no one wants that!
Instead, then, respect that there are lines no teacher should cross, and nor should you ask them to. Sure, you might get some insight here that you wouldn’t have otherwise, but you should make sure that teachers always broach the subject first. Otherwise, you should wait until parent’s evening and get your child’s report like every other parent. After all, while it is fantastic that you’re in such close proximity all the time, the purpose of this role was not to better understand your child’s progress!
Try not to be ‘that’ teacher
Our last point may seem like an obvious one, but it’s vital to note anyway. Bear in mind that, in primary and secondary school, especially, the use of surnames names for teachers means that most students will know about your familial connections. As such, you can bet your child will have a hard time if you become a strict teacher that no one can stand.
Not only would this be incredibly embarrassing for your child to handle, but it could also lead to inadvertent friendship problems for them. After all, who’s going to want to hang out after you gave them detention? They’ll likely imagine that anything they say to your child will be used in evidence. Like mother, like daughter, and all that stuff.
You may also find that, embarrassed or not, your youngster gets themselves into arguments to defend your honour against your worst critics. But, these are battles that no child should have to face, especially not with the socialisation challenges school poses for them already
As such, you need to do whatever you can to be a teacher that your students can at least stomach. To some extent, of course, this will be out of your control. That said, you can take steps such as being fair with your punishments and getting creative with your class plans. You never know; these efforts could even boost your child’s popularity instead!
A final word
There is a lot to consider before accepting a job at your child’s school, and you wouldn’t be alone if you decided that this path simply wasn’t for you. Even if you do accept, though, you can ease the pressure by keeping considerations like these in mind.