Many teachers will tell you that one of the reasons they joined the profession is because no two days are the same and that working in a school is anything but predictable. When schools closed in March 2020, teaching through video conferencing and pre-recorded instructions became the new normal overnight and this took us all out of our professional comfort zone. Having achieved newly qualified teacher (NQT) status in July 2020, I have yet to experience a ‘normal’ year of teaching, but at least I no longer feel quite so inexperienced. This past year has been a strange one, to say the least, with many intense challenges but also some surprising rewards.
Literature sparked a passion in me as far back as I remember: I have always been a bookworm, fascinated by stories and storytelling. During my final year of A-level study I volunteered in a primary school. Coming home every day covered in glue and glitter having spent story time with a rapt audience, I decided that working in education was what I really wanted to do. The moment of epiphany in a student’s eyes when they get something, or the shared quiet gasp at the plot twist in the whole-class reading book — these were things to savour. I wanted to help others find solace in books as I had, and be that teacher who inspired me when I was young.
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