Top ten reasons to be cheerful (if you’re a teacher)

1. If you search google for ‘teaching “best job in the world”’ you get over 4,680,000 results

2. Only 6% of pupils are taught by teachers who are less than satisfied with their careers: according to the NFER analysis of the Pirls findings. In addition, teachers in England, alongside those in the United States and Australia, gave among the highest overall ratings for their working conditions, in terms of teaching space, materials and supplies. Among all the data and the different interpretations of what rankings mean, it may be worth taking a moment to be thankful for your classroom and the materials at your disposal.

3. Momentum seems to be gathering behind the voice of the profession: With the SSAT Redesigning Schooling campaign, the Headteachers’ Roundtable, and calls for a Royal College of Teaching, this is an exciting time for having your say on how the profession can own it’s vision for education.

4. You’re not bored: The boredom of office workers apparently makes them more likely to snack all day, to resort to a drink in the evening and to suffer from boredom related stress. In comparison teachers are the least bored according to a 006 survey (admittedly from the TDA!)

5. Teachers are attractive: Well, if you’re a male teacher you’re among the most attractive to women anyway. According to a survey by match.com, this is because you’re “able to combine caring with… leadership”.

6. Teaching offers diverse possibilities of working abroad: According to our recent blog from TeacherHorizons founder Alex Reynolds: “Research recently published by ISC Research show that there are currently 295,000 teachers teaching overseas – ie not in the country that they trained – and a significant percentage of these teachers are from the UK.” As well a higher chance of sunshine, working abroad offers excellent CPD opportunities.

7. More men are entering primary teaching: The proportion of those entering primary teaching who are male increasing to 20% from 18% in 2010, continuing a trend over the last four years – creating a more representative profession and greater numbers of male role models.

8.The days are getting longer: which brings even more opportunity and incentive to take learning outdoors.

9. The profession is full of people whose positivity you can draw from: Bloggers like Wonderacademy and Peter Donald offer a cheerful antidote to some of the headlines.

10. And of course, another reason to be cheerful is the launch of Edapt last year: which marks the first time that teachers have been able to source legal protection in case of an allegation or employment dispute from an alternative source to a union, making the decision a real choice.