Month: September 2026

E23 (Or S2E2):The Trouble With Having Faces

If Episode 22 (or S2E1) was a fairly successful foray into the world of vodcasting, then Episode 23 (or S2E2) highlighted the very real challenges of the medium. We recorded the first two video episodes back-to-back, signalling the change of episode to ourselves with a quick costume change. We recorded both episodes in the school’s…
Read more: E23 (Or S2E2):The Trouble With Having Faces

The Antiques Roadshow Dread, "Day in the Life" Delusions, and Why Phil Is Lying – Ben and James Could Do Better: Two Teachers, No Idea

That sinking feeling that arrives with the Antiques Roadshow theme tune? We know it well.By the second week back, the summer holidays can already feel like a distant memory. The first-day enthusiasm has worn off, the timetable has started to bite, and you’ve remembered exactly how many things there are to do before you can even think about getting home.So we talk candidly about the Sunday scaries and why the return to school can feel like a wave of anxiety, even when we like teaching and care about doing a good job. We get into workload guilt, imposter syndrome, and the strange pressure of feeling you should be “rested” while your brain is already rehearsing lesson one, period five, and everything you did not tick off in July.From there we spiral, naturally, into Ofsted. The “Ofsted window” becomes our way of laughing at a very real background stress: inspection culture, shifting judgements, and the sense that accountability never quite leaves the building.We also poke at the unhelpful myth that teachers finish when pupils do, and why the job stretches well beyond the bell with planning, marking, meetings, parental contact, and the endless small tasks that keep a school running.To make it concrete, we read a Government Get Into Teaching “day in the life of a teacher” schedule and react in real time. Some of it is fair, some of it is wildly optimistic, and the quotes from “Phil”, “Jessica”, “Mike”, “Gavin”, and “Jane” open up a bigger question about how teaching is presented to non-teachers versus how it is actually lived by teachers.If you’ve made it through the first week back, this one is for you.If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe to Ben and James Could Do Better, leave us a review, and share it with a colleague who is already counting down to half term. And if you’ve got a story about returning to school, Ofsted, workload, or one of those supposedly “typical” days in the life of a teacher, we’d love to hear it.What part of going back to school triggers your Sunday scaries most? Let us know — we might even read your answers on a future episode.You can get in touch with us at bandjcdb@gmail.com or find out more at www.benandjamescoulddobetter.com.Thanks for listening. And remember: it’s only the second week back. There’s still plenty of time for everything to go horribly wrong.Send us Fan MailSupport the show

The Antiques Roadshow Dread, "Day in the Life" Delusions, and Why Phil Is Lying 51:38
We’ve Gone Video. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? 39:04
Back to Skool, Slush Puppies and Summer Holiday Nostalgia 34:02
Exam Results, Music Lessons, and a House Trying to Kill You 34:01
STOPP, Breathe, and Have a Nice Holiday 41:34

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Month: September 2026

E23 (Or S2E2):The Trouble With Having Faces