Is it me or them?

It’s exam season here again. And with the change of season always comes a great existential crisis as a teacher. When you grade test after test of failing grades, you begin to question your effectiveness, method and purpose at school.

What’s hard for my mind that was trained in the grade-inflated halls of the US school system is that many of my students don’t have the time, let alone understand how to study, and many expect to fail at least one class over their academic career.

Redoing a year is not uncommon, and it doesn’t quite carry the same stigma as it does in the US. This thing is, as their teacher, I want them to succeed. I cheer internally every time I mark a student with a passing grade. I still feel like their performance is a reflection on me.

Or is it just that I don’t want to have to teach the same students again next year?