To cross the threshold leaving care

Behind with clocking off in time,

It makes the world seem easier,

But at what cost does that come?

With no one to congratulate,

To whisper words that appreciate,

Then what’s the point of that?

Why bother leaving for a day

Of something close to misery?

I’ve been thinking a lot about my work in the school and how it compares to the work I did at the petrol station. There are obviously pros and cons to each but I sometimes wonder which would win out on balance.

Working at the petrol station was great because I knew that come clocking off time, I was able to leave the building and not think about work again until the next time I had to clock on.

Now, I can sometimes be still working at 10pm and I often feel really stressed and overwhelmed with the amount of work that is expected of us. I sometimes think that it would be easier to just jack it in and go back to that easy life.

But, I can tell you that working in a job where you really don’t care can be soul destroying. At the petrol station, I wanted to do my work but I wasn’t inspired to do anything over and above what was expected of me. Feeling that way about your job just makes you hate every moment that you are there and you end up resenting it. I went there to pay the bills and that was it.

On the other hand, when I’m working with the kids I’m regularly reminded why teaching is such a cool job. There are times when you overhear a kid say that they think you are nice or a fun teacher and you can feel your heart swell. Or you get a lovely email from a parent and you realise they are thankful for the hard work you put in.

So, what do I prefer? Low stress but boring and uninspiring? Or bloody hard work and lots of stress, but so many moments that are just magical? I’m guessing you all probably know the answer…..

Much Love

Rachel xx