There was a survey carried out about 4 or 5 years back by one of the national papers, about people who you would trust. Teachers came out top at about 95%, so there is probably more appreciation than you'd think. You tend to listen to the small handful of loudmouth parents.

A lot of teachers are workaholics, hence needing a wind-down, and also are deliberately conditioned by organisations like the GTC to feel guilt. It's a bit like the Stakhanovite movement in Stalin's Russia. They had a teacher in their magazine who was saying things like "I jump out of bed in the morning as soon as I wake up as I'm so keen to get into work." I think this person must have been computer generated a bit like an educational version of Lara Croft.

Someone on the Jimmy Young programme once said: "Teachers don't have holidays, they convalesce."

Back to the survey referred to at the top, estate agents were about 20%, but I think that bankers are probably now regarded as an even lower life form.