Anyone want to love a teacher of Mathematics?

Teaching.
 'Tis an honourable profession. Sadly not a respected one.
Ah to hark back to the days when  any town would be run by the Preacher, the Doctor, the Lawyer and the teacher.
Sadly, the first three still have a certain amount of respect as a vocation.
Should your child return from school and decide that they want to be a minister or priest, saving souls,  they have your support.
A Doctor, saving lives, they have your support.
A lawyer, saving....saving....probably saving you money in legal fees, they have your support.
Should they want to be a teacher....nay, a secondary school teacher, you look for psychiatric help.
Where has the respect gone for the humble teacher of Mathematics?
The students hate you.
The parents think they can do you job better ( but wouldn't take you up on the offer.)
The leadership want to bog you down with proof, evidence and marking.
The Government change the goalposts and the rule book more often than Jordan changes boyfriend/husbands.
And then there's OFSTED, who tell you that you can always do your job better. Great, coming from people who have chosen to remove themselves from the chalk face.
Pupils do badly....the teachers are to blame.
Pupils do well....teachers have taught to the test and the exams are too easy.

I love the idea of teaching to the test. For my next group of GCSE maths students I plan to teach a course in Football appreciation and cooking.....see how not teaching to the test helps them.