To celebrate National Storytelling Week (30 January to 6 February), we asked teachers in Scotland to tell us about the good, the bad and the downright ugly of teaching. We'll show a different story every day. If you feel inspired to tell us yours, do so in the form at the end of this tale, or by clicking here.

James* is originally from Coventry in the West Midlands and has taught English for nearly four years. He currently teaches in a High School in Edinburgh.

Here's his story...

My favourite teacher when I was at school was Mrs Caddick. She was passionate about English, encouraging, strict when needed (often!) and just had an 'aura' about her. I took up teaching myself because I thought I could single-handedly raise literacy levels. Took about 30 minutes for that bubble to burst. Then I had to fall back on (the pretty solid ground) that I enjoy working with kids and really love my subject.

I remember my first week at my new school. An interesting class - kids bursting into spontaneous song, one mouthing 'I hate you' and others making animal noises. I kept some of them behind, read them the Riot Act and after 45 minutes of interruptions and backchat, they had me reaching for the old favourites: 'I'm not asking you, I'm telling you!' etc etc. As I reached a crescendo, I noticed the most work-shy of the lot lazily look at his watch and roll his eyes. 'HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT YOUR WATCH AND MAKE FACES LIKE THAT!' I screamed within legal distance of his face. Calm as you like, he shrugged and drawled: 'I was just wonderin' if you'd finished, like. I've got a bus to catch.' I was rendered speechless and pointed a trembling finger at the door.

Needless to say, the class didn't get any better for a while. I couldn't have done it without very good support from senior management. After two years, most got Standard Grade 3's and some 4's, which was the best outcome under the circumstances.

Then one day, I was doing the usual riot control when one of my pupils from the year before popped her head round the door with a bottle of wine and a card to say thank-you for helping her pass through a stressful year. No-one had ever done that before and it made my day.

If I used one of Teacher Support Scotland's services, I would probably phone the Support Line rather than email through their Online Support because I like the immediate contact and advice.

*Names have been changed to protect the teacher's privacy

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Teacher Support Scotland will be taking part in National Storytelling Week with different stories from teachers. Are you a teacher with a story to share? Please do so in the form below: