It's difficult to over-egg just how important being confident is to a teacher.

Strange as it may seem, in the big scheme of things confidence is probably every bit as important as subject knowledge. So, why is confidence so crucial - and how can you become a more confident teacher? Confidence is crucial: The reasons why Of course, in many ways it's difficult to separate confidence as a teacher and confidence as a person.

There is certainly more to being a confident teacher than just what goes on in the classroom. Teachers should already have a bit of head-start in the confidence stakes anyway.

Any person who even considers the prospect of standing in front of 30 eight year olds or sixteen year olds as a career choice must have a modicum of confidence already! Anybody who has got themselves through teacher training successfully will have steadily grown in confidence.

At the very least, a NQT should be starting from a healthily strong confidence base. However, we all know that, in life, confidence is not a constant.

We can grow in confidence, sure.

But, confidence can be lost too.

When that happens it can drain away very quickly - and it can be very hard to replace. As teachers we know how important confidence and self-belief is with the students we teach.

For a pupil, confidence and self-belief cannot replace a lack of ability entirely - but it can go a long way in compensating for it. On the flip- side, a student that struggles with their confidence is likely to be one that struggles, full stop.

At worst, lacking confidence can be crippling and destructive for a student. We know this.

But confidence is as crucial to us as teachers as it is to our pupils. Confidence in the classroom Being in the classroom in front of a class of students is a teacher's bread and butter.

The teacher has to command that space.

The teacher has to be in charge.

The teacher has to be the captain that plots the course, makes decisions and motivates the team (i.e.

the pupils).

The teacher is the rock. To be all of those things, the teacher needs confidence! One of the key challenges of teacher training is to appear supremely confident even if you are dying inside of fright and fear! Success breeds confidence, so the first time you have wins in the classroom (big or little), it gives you the confidence to do it again. But the need to appear confident - even in situations when you are not confident at all - is a skill that needs to be developed throughout your teaching career.

You can never afford to lose it. Few teachers are fortunate enough to be teaching students who simply lap up everything they say every single day.

For most of us, it's a constant challenge.

After all, children can be a challenging and difficult audience.

Children are wired to sniff out weakness.

If they smell it, they smell blood.

The teacher cannot let that happen. Confidence is the key Confidence is much more than something you need to remain 'in control' of a class.

It is much, much more than an important part of classroom management. Confidence is about daring to be different - to take risks - not all the time (obviously); but a willingness to try new things in the classroom, to experiment and to be creative all stems from confidence. Confidence is about being prepared to say no every once in a while - to a manager who is asking you to take on too much; or to yourself - when you are considering spending all 24 hours of Sunday 'catching up' with marking.

Confidence is about giving yourself some 'me time.' Confidence is also about cutting yourself some slack.

Being reflective on your own practice is vital.

Continually wanting to develop and learn feeds confidence.

However, accepting that you will get things wrong from time to time and that you will have lessons go wrong is equally important. Learn from mistakes and disappointments, but don't let them crush you.