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Using fit2teach Helps Improve Teacher Work-Life Balance

Posted by Matt Butcher on August 25th 2017
It works

Yes – it’s a bold claim. A blog post written by the bloke who dreamt up the platform claiming that the platform works. If you’ve used fit2teach over a sustained period of time then the title won’t offend or surprise you; it might not even interest you because you’ve been telling us this for weeks. We love you to bits; but – when deciding on this post – it wasn’t planned with you in mind. Here, we share your success to entice others to give f2t a whirl; to give it time; and to reap the rewards. So in order to keep you engaged - while telling you something you already know - let’s deliver things differently…

it works

‘It’s part of the job; so who needs an App to tell or to show me I’m screwed?’

The unsure; the haters; the rude alligators; and the odd technology-prude.

Like the Head who bans Facebook; who doesn’t use Facebook – the doubters were ready to doubt;

But why press submit; slag it off and then quit; then return to a social-life drought?


I get it – I do – I was once just like you; but life dealt me a different hand;

I was forced to decide; forced to swallow my pride; forced to change how my lessons were planned.

It took time – I admit – but I started to knit me a schedule built around me;

I was happier; fresher; seemed to work with less pressure; the best teacher I ever could be.


The learning went crazy; they said I was lazy as I drove out the car-park at four;

But my own kids would dance as I burst through the door; and my pupils were thriving like never-before.

A work-life balance I appeared to have mastered; and still our class progress was constantly plastered;

On documents celebrated up and down school; and still without breaking an actual rule.


But it ended when my wife passed away; and I told my class I could no longer stay;

That my own children needed me more than they did; so out of a dream-job I quietly slid.

We’d talked – Caz and I – about launching an App; to help teachers escape from their over-worked trap;

A place we had found; one we knew was so vital; so now you know why, let’s refer to the title.


After only one term we had thousands of users; green and orange were good; but he red scores were losers.

And the red scores were bleeding all over our screens; reminiscent of things seen in Game of Thrones scenes;

But in time things got better; the reds became fewer and the teachers who stuck-at-it became five-star-reviewers.

The reds turned to orange; a sight to be seen. Then suddenly teachers were churning out green!


From negative nine, minus six, minus four; it soon became clear we were raising our score.

The next week - a holiday – a score of fifteen; cinemas, pubs, family-time where’ve you been?

A hiccup then personal best from the team; then positive territory thanks to splashes of green.

Sharing screens in our staffroom we were witnessing change; a work-life balance was well within range.


Week by week average scores were improving; the greens were more common and the reds they were moving;

Two, six, nine, sixteen; that can’t be the same teacher – screen beside screen?

A small-steps approach while you offered support; yet still in the classroom not coming up short.

You’re so used to graphs – you live them; you draw them. I don’t need to tell you our data is awesome.


I was wrong at the start when I said who I wrote for; and now that I’m finished I’m sure that I didn’t bore;

Those thousands of users still proving us right; who adore their job and still see the light;

Of a good work-life balance to give them a chance; of leaving at four and having a dance;

With friends or with family; in a much better mood. With the help of an App that just ‘shows you you’re screwed’…