1.  Teachers finish work at 3pm. Which is obviously why you’re still grading at midnight… Of course, you’d have done it sooner but you’ve had staff meetings, a school play rehearsal and detention duty already this evening. And to top it all off, you’ve just received an email asking if you can spare a couple of hours to volunteer at the school fair.

2. Teachers have several weeks off for vacation. This might be true on paper but take into account how many hours teachers work during the school year (both inside and outside the classroom) and teachers work more than enough hours for the full year. Time off is spent preparing for the next class, the next school year. Only after you’ve finished all that will there be time for sleeping.

3.  A school trip is a free holiday. Absolutely! If your idea of a holiday has you up at dawn, watching your students like a hawk, constantly reminding 60-plus overexcited kids not to be silly/break something/spend all their pocket money.

4.  Teachers are full of clichés. It’s a little known fact that teacher training courses do not actually include a module on clichés. If you hear stock phrases like, “You’re only hurting yourself” and “It’s your own time you’re wasting!” then they are being said because they are true. So do something about it.

5.  Teachers are just big kids. Hmmm...yeah. We might give you that one.

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