Teach Secondary 14.4

being exposed as a fraud, regardless of how successful they are, and howmuch those around them appreciate all that they do. Even on good days, there’s always that familiar feeling: ‘ I got away with it this time – but what about the next time? ’ Breaking the cycle Not everyone with imposter syndrome will have exactly the same experience, but one common feature is the constant feeling of being judged and not measuring up. This can lead to a cycle of over-preparation and perfectionism, fear of failure and discounting of successes, leading to yet more over- preparation to try to prove themselves evenmore thoroughly next time. Breaking this vicious cycle involves rejecting the notion that a person’s worth depends on what others think or say about them. Looking to others to determine our worth is destructive to our wellbeing – especially if we fail to recognise when others have very favourable views of us, and instead focus solely on the negatives. Teachers come in all shapes and sizes. One teacher’s strengths will be completely different from another’s. Having a diversity of class and background is particularly valuable within the teaching profession, so that young people get to see positive role models among their teachers who have things in common with them that they can identify with. Negatives to positives Telling young people that they can aspire to a range of different futures and professions is important, but actually seeing in reality teachers – and others – who have come from similar backgrounds to their own speaks far more powerfully. One teacher once told me how her regional accent, which she had beenmade to feel uncomfortable about at university, became an important asset when she returned to the community she’d grown up in and started teaching at one of the local schools. She spoke like the young people she taught, and they related to her accordingly. She quickly learned to see this as a positive, rather than a negative for her practice. That’s not to say that all teachers must be able to relate to their pupils in the same way – young people ultimately need to encounter a range of teachers from multiple different backgrounds – but there was certainly no reason for that particular teacher to feel she had anything less to offer than anyone else. Quite the opposite, in fact. Acorrosive perfectionism The perfectionism of imposter syndrome is like any other form of perfectionism. As well as being corrosive for one’s emotional health, it simultaneously prevents people from doing their best work. Letting go of some of that pressure will free us up to be the people that we actually are, with all our strengths – and, yes, our personal challenges too. Young people can and will quickly see through pretence. They’re muchmore likely to relate well to teachers who have learned to be relaxed with being their true selves. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Colin Foster (@colinfoster77) is a Reader in Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics Education at Loughborough University, and has written many books and articles for teachers; find out more at foster77.co.uk 71 teachwire.net/secondary C P D