Hello!

Exactly four years ago, I held my last lesson at my school. According to the inventory, she handed over all the sports equipment, the keys to the gyms and the ski base, from her “training room”, and left.

I have only been to the school twice since then. The first time, shortly after the dismissal, was to decide who would conduct further classes with a group of small volleyball players with whom I used to work. Transfer program and log. The second time — a year and a half later — at the graduation of the youngest son.

She quit school six months after the appointment of a teacher’s pension, at the age of 49. Tired. I began to go to work almost with disgust. But this did not apply to children in any way. But it was about the system itself. And to the position taken by the school administration in relation to teachers.

In the first months, of course, there was a real breakdown. It was a shame and annoyance that the knowledge and experience accumulated over more than a quarter of a century remain unclaimed. Missed the kids. I even considered options to return to work at school again, especially since there were offers. But I decided: I’ll rest for a year, and then we’ll see.

And so, a year has passed. I didn’t even think about going back to school. Learned to live without a call. Then another three years flew by. Do I regret that I did not work at school longer? — Not a minute!

Today, walking around my already snow-covered village (and the village is large, the regional center), I recalled how I taught skiing lessons.

If the senior classes, then the lessons with them were a pleasure for me. There is only one task: to convince teenagers to take a walk, to move in the fresh air. At first, they don’t want it, they are capricious, shirk… And they will pass around the stadium for a 2-3 lap and get involved, add speed. Excitement appears. By the end of the second lesson (middle and high school ski lessons are paired) everyone is so pretty: cheeks are pink, eyes are shining. Kilometers of 5-6 exactly wound. And some more, up to 10. Usually, in the lessons with high school students, I myself went skiing. She showed the technique of moves, sometimes even ran a race.

My tricks. Lazy people, of course :))) Photo by the author. 2016 My tricks. Lazy people, of course :))) Photo by the author. 2016

And if the elementary grades, then this is a test for the teacher. During the first half of the lesson, you help put on your boots (some kids don’t know how to tie laces until they are 12!), and then you crawl on all fours on the ski track and help fasten them to the skis. The second half of the lesson is in the same position, but you are already unfastening it and helping to remove it.

And so sometimes 8 lessons a day. From dark to dark, in two shifts. You don’t even think about the fact that you yourself can be cold or hot, you want to drink tea, or, excuse me, in the toilet. It somehow goes beyond consciousness. My teachers asked me: don’t you freeze all day on the street? And I don’t know what to say. Yes, I have no time to think about whether I’m freezing. I make sure that the little ones do not freeze, do not cripple and at the same time learn something else. And I try to enjoy the process itself.

And the storage room for ski equipment for junior classes in our school is on the second floor. So imagine how the kids trudge up the stairs with skis and sticks. Mittens in the snow, laces are untied, skis and sticks are falling out of your hands … Just be in time, see that those walking up the stairs do not gouge out the eyes with the tips of sticks to those who follow, below. And for the smallest, skis and sticks have to be carried by the teacher.

Young skier. 2017 Photo of the author. Young skier. 2017 Photo of the author.

And the ski storage room is so much fun! Skis need to be put in a rack strictly in their place, sticks should be hung, boots removed and fastened to skis … And the whole class is trying to do it at the same time! Do you think children 7-9 years old are able to do this on their own? Far, not all. There are 25 people in the class. Change — 10-15 minutes. And by the time the next class arrives, everything should be in order. And we are still constantly looking for boots, then mittens disappear somewhere …

No, by the fourth grade, children usually already know how to handle skis on their own and correctly. But until they grow up to the fourth grade…

Twins at the finish line. 2015 Photo of the author. Twins at the finish line. 2015 Photo of the author.

In general, I remembered my work, and a frost ran through my skin. The responsibility for children is enormous. Just make sure that someone, God forbid, doesn’t fall, hurt himself or hurt another with a stick, don’t freeze his fingers …

When exercising in the gym or on the street in the September or May heat, the specifics are different, but the responsibility for children is no less.

Our dean at the institute said: “If there is a useless mathematics teacher at school, the children simply will not know mathematics. If a useless physical education teacher, then this threatens the health and life of the child.

This was the most difficult thing in my work: constant, every second responsibility for the health and life of children. And not only during the lesson, but also at breaks. Children in locker rooms also need an eye and an eye.

Would I like to go to school again? Not! Not!!!

Based on my experience, I can say that if you work in school in good faith, then a person is just enough for 25 years. This «length of service» was invented by smart people. It is for so many years that a person can work productively at school without harming his own health. Working at school for more than 25 years is a direct threat to physical and mental health. And one can already argue about the quality of the teacher’s work.

I don’t understand colleagues who strive to work “to the last”. Yes, it is nice to receive both a salary and a pension. But you can’t earn all the money. No matter how many of them a person has, he will always be missed. And health can be undermined easily.

I am very glad that I left the school on time. Saved strength, health, nerves, interest in life. Not a single day was funny in the eyes of the students. I do not participate in those «miracles» that are now happening in schools. I do not communicate with «yazhemothers». I don’t write stupid reports and I don’t fill out an electronic journal at night. I do not spend half of my vacation on work programs. I do not count my “points” to prove that I work well and deserve “stimulating” payments (a disgusting, humiliating procedure for a teacher).

There is life after school. And very interesting, varied and rich. There is time for hobbies, for trips, for grandchildren. Finally for my husband. In order to cook dinner with pleasure and slowly. Unless, working at school, I could break away at any time on a trip, just because cheap tickets turned up ?

And the teacher will always find a way to create additional earnings for retirement. There would be a desire. If there is no desire, then, of course, there are many excuses.

Thank you for reading to the end of my story about the work of a physical education teacher. Tell me, do you think this is the easiest and least important job at school?

Health to all and good mood — regardless of the weather!