From the Teacher Support Network, www.teachersupport.info.

EVERYBODY LOVES A CUPPA TEA (EXCEPT ME!)

In November, Teacher Support Network is asking teachers across Great Britain to take up the maxim ‘cuppa, cake and donate!’ and join us in celebrating the first ever Great Teachers Tea Break.

Teachers play a vital role in all our lives, as we count on them to educate and inspire our young people. But teaching can be tough – and teachers often don’t get the recognition they need and deserve. The Great Teachers Tea Break is a celebration of the teaching profession and the important job that they do - and is a great opportunity for teachers themselves to take time out from their busy working day to celebrate their achievements.

We’re asking teachers to take a well-earned break, to have a cup of tea, chat with their colleagues and make a small donation to help us to continue to provide emotional and practical support to the profession. Every penny raised will be used to provide vital support to teachers in need. We recognise that taking time out during the day is very difficult for many teachers because of the sheer volume of work that must be undertaken during the school day. Nevertheless, we think it’s important to try and help teachers carve out a short time off together this month to interact with colleagues and celebrate their achievements. We’re very excited about the project, despite my own preferences for coffee!

Why have we chosen this format to celebrate teaching? At Teacher Support Network, we know from speaking to thousands every year that a teacher’s relationships with his or her colleagues can have a definitive effect on their experiences at work. Although the profession may always be difficult and stressful, having a supportive team, including school management, around them can be crucial in being able to cope with its demands. By asking teachers to come together for a short period this month, we hope teachers will have the chance to reflect together on their own achievements and foster the relationships that help make their efforts successful.

Our plans have made me reflect on my own lack of appreciation of tea. As well as being a popular hot drink, it’s also a very powerful cultural icon. For many, having a cuppa is the embodiment of relaxation and socialising. It has the reputation as a subtle yet potent elixir, which, to paraphrase William Gladstone, can heat the cold, hearten the depressed and calm the excited. Enjoying a good slurp of chai somehow also conjures up a feeling of cheery yet Churchillian sense of defiance in the face of adversity. Whatever the situation, good or bad, many Brits will reach for the kettle, pull out their china and settle down for a few minutes of supportive conversation and a nice cup of Rosy Lee.

Not me, though, I’m afraid! I know this is unusual, but the appeal of tea has always been lost on me. Coffee I can handle, and hot chocolate has its place, but tea has never caught my imagination in the way it has for most. Over the years many true lovers have tried to convert me, each with their own take on the accompanying rituals: warming the pot with steam rather than hot water, using a pewter teapot, abandoning batches which were filled with water too long after it had boiled, even stipulating which direction the pot should be stirred before pouring, convinced that their methodology would finally cause me to appreciate tea. In order to avoid riling SecEd’s readership on a very sensitive subject, I won’t even broach the ‘milk before or after’ debates, which I have seen sour relationships more quickly than a bottle of full-fat left out the fridge overnight.

In spite of my friends’ efforts, I’ve never been won over. I’ve been wondering recently whether I’m missing out. Perhaps it’s time for another attempt to join my countrymen and women in their appreciation and pride in the British interpretation of our favourite Far Eastern import. What better opportunity to broaden my hot drink horizons than the Great Teachers Tea Break? By taking part, I hope to join thousands of teachers in appreciating the profession’s contributions; work that is vital to the lives of everyone across Great Britain, undertaken in the face of tremendous pressure in and outside of the classroom. The Tea Break will also allow teachers to relax together - an oasis in an otherwise hectic school day. If such circumstances don’t enable me to gain appreciation of tea, I don’t know what will!

Why not join the campaign and organise a Tea Break in your school? You can find out more about the Great Teachers Tea Break at http://teachersupport.info