Teachers officially reported back to school this week after a full two month holiday, marking the ceremonial reopening of chalkboards, timetables and professional resolve. However, if one were to judge by events in staffrooms across the country, it became immediately clear that teaching itself was not the first item on the timetable.
According to multiple eyewitness accounts and unconfirmed, but very reliable staffroom intelligence, the first official lesson of the term was not Mathematics, English or even the perennial subject of complaining about students. Instead, the dominant activity was hugging; specifically, hugging between individuals widely known in institutional folklore as office spouses.
From as early as 7:00 a.m., staffrooms began to resemble reunion terminals rather than professional workspaces. Chairs were abandoned, lesson plan files remained unopened and thermos flasks stood unattended. What followed was a series of embraces so intense, so prolonged and so emotionally loaded that observers began to question whether morning assembly was still necessary.
The hugs were long. The hugs were emotional. Some lasted longer than the entire morning assembly.
Education experts may debate pedagogy, but there was no disputing the physical evidence: arms were very busy. In several schools, teachers were seen standing in strategic corners of the staffroom, engaged in embraces that suggested unresolved cliffhangers from the previous term. These were not casual greetings; they were chapter continuations.
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Notably absent from discussion were schemes of work, CBE trackers, lesson objectives and performance indicators. The curriculum, witnesses reported, was respectfully acknowledged and then firmly postponed. ‘We’ll deal with it tomorrow’ appeared to be the unspoken national resolution.
School administrators, many of whom had returned earlier to prepare for the reopening, seemed torn between enforcing professionalism and honoring the emotional rehabilitation happening before their eyes. One deputy head, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that interrupting a hug that had been loading for sixty days felt both cruel and unnecessary.
The holiday itself had been long and demanding. For teachers, it had been filled not only with rest but also with family obligations, village funerals, weddings, side hustles and, in many cases, quiet exhaustion. While the public often imagines teachers resting effortlessly during breaks, the reality is that many simply change uniforms; from chalk dust covered coats to life’s heavier garments.
The reopening of schools therefore also marked the reopening of human connections. The staffroom, long regarded as a pressure-release chamber for the profession, reclaimed its place as a sacred space. Before tending to learners’ emotional and academic needs, teachers appeared determined to check in with one another.
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Observers of workplace culture describe the phenomenon as a predictable post-holiday reattachment phase, marked by prolonged greetings, loud laughter, dramatic storytelling and repeated phrases such as ‘We really suffered’ and ‘This term will be different.’ Beneath the humour, however, lay a deeper truth about the nature of teaching itself.
Teaching is not mechanical work. It is profoundly human. Teachers do not merely return to buildings; they return to relationships. Colleagues are not just coworkers but confidants, counsellors, emergency lenders and emotional first responders. The staffroom is not merely a room; it is a support system.
By midday, subtle shifts began to occur. Files were cautiously opened. Diaries emerged from handbags and briefcases. A few brave souls mentioned lesson plans and deadlines. Reality knocked, gently but persistently, reminding everyone that the term had officially begun.
By afternoon, staff briefings were held, expectations outlined and targets set. The curriculum cleared its throat, patiently reclaiming attention. It was announced that classes would begin in earnest the following day.
And so, as schools across the country settle back into routine, one thing is clear: the first day back was never truly about teaching. It was about reconnecting, recharging and remembering that behind every scheme of work is a living, breathing human being.
The curriculum could wait. The hugs could not. Classes will begin tomorrow.
By Angel Raphael
About the writer
Angel Raphael is a teacher of English at a school in Westlands sub-county and keen observer of language, people and everyday school life.
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