The Teacher’s Conscience: Being Your Own Boss in the Classroom

One of the unique aspects of teaching is that, for the most part, you’re your own boss. Once the classroom door closes, it’s you and your students. There’s no manager standing behind you watching your every move — it’s your own conscience that keeps you accountable.

That means the responsibility to deliver good lessons, consistently, falls squarely on us. When working with children, it’s easy to forget that they often can’t distinguish between good and poor teaching. They won’t necessarily know when they’ve been short-changed. That’s why it’s so easy to fall into the trap of taking the lazy route — handing out a textbook or worksheet, sitting back, and letting them “get on with it.”

We’ve all had those moments where energy is low or life outside of work takes its toll. Health, stress, or home pressures can all impact our teaching. But somewhere in the back of our minds, we need to keep asking ourselves: Am I doing a good enough job? Would I be happy with this lesson if it were my own child sitting in this classroom?

Momentum plays a huge part in this. A run of bad lessons can be difficult to recover from, just as a string of positive ones can create powerful rhythm and confidence. When I have a lesson that doesn’t go well, it stays with me. It nags at me — not out of guilt, but because I know I could have done better.

The key is to respond quickly. A poor lesson should motivate a great one that follows. That’s how you reset your own standards and regain that momentum. Often, the hardest part is simply making the decision to act — to stop giving yourself that internal discomfort and take ownership. And the moment you do, you usually wish you’d done it sooner.

Teaching isn’t just about what we deliver to our students — it’s about holding ourselves accountable when no one else is watching. Our conscience, if we listen to it, can be the best teacher we have.