Until It's Gone - An Advert For Teaching

Those who know me, professionally and personally, will be aware I've had to take 2 weeks 'off'; a little hospital trip to destroy a worrying lump. I did everything to avoid the procedure being in school time, but the recovery time has been longer than my optimism had predicted, despite trying to schedule it all during the Winter break.

​I have felt like a total vegetable; mind-numbing tv, no physical movement, and the worst bit? I've missed work. My colleagues, my kids and the supportive families that leave them in our care each day. In case you weren't aware, I'm a bit of a geek. I love my job, and with all the current articles regarding the 'teacher recruitment crisis', I want to tell you some of the best things about this warming profession.​
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Education needs you!

A career in Education exercises your imagination!
​One of the aspects I like most is the opportunity to create. Whether it's designing a unit of work, planning a sequence of lessons, or thinking of a way to communicate something in a memorable way, you can really think out of the box and experiment with finding the best way forward. With all learners benefitting from different methods, it's your job to help as many as you can. Find or design the resource, provide the experience; whatever works!

A career in Education challenges you!
​Personally, I could never head to work, stay at the same desk, and leave hours later. I also couldn't wander around the same shop all day. Teaching is a never-ending puzzle; a constant problem to solve! If the last strategy didn't work, find a new one! Twin that with the Tetris-like juggling of a packed timetable and it's almost like an arcade game! If you like to be intellectually stimulated, teaching is for you. 

A career in Education is rewarding!
It's the fluffiest cliché, but the most true. There's nothing like the feeling of seeing a moment where a student begins to understand something. It's in the eyes; a change in thinking as they finally make a break through, and with the inevitable, associated struggles that come alongside the two listed above, the sense of pride as their teacher is tremendous. It's a profession full of cognitive and emotional embrace.

​A career in Education is varied!
While the day-to-day timings are broadly the same, the content of each working day is totally different and never dull. Adding to that, you meet a range of people, both in and out of the classroom from a wide variety of backgrounds, with all manner of colourful histories. Yes, some of these histories can cause difficulties, but a bit of empathy goes a long way. If you're lucky, you'll get a chance to get to know these people and the journey they have taken to your meeting.

​A career in Education will make you laugh!
​They say never work with animals or children. Depending on how brave you were planning that lesson, you might find yourself doing both! Young people, often accidentally, say the funniest things; they make the best dinner-time stories with their strange wonderments and most logical explanations for the most complicated phenomena. Leave your troubles at the door and prepare for a giggle. Humour is an underrated tool in the classroom; it makes everyone feel welcome and has all participants eager to return, making the whole learning process a lot more enjoyable.

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.
​Rumi

At times it will be emotional; some of your learners have come to you from a place you couldn't even imagine. Yet, they're relying on you to help them. At times it will be stressful; there are often deadlines set by an invisible boss. Yet, what job doesn't involve quality assurance from a foreign body creeping from their ivory tower? At times it won't feel worth it; that lesson didn't go as well as you hoped. Yet, that's life isn't it? Tomorrow will be different!

​Come in. I'm about to return, and I think you should come with me.

Balance, peace and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognising your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them.
Thomas Kinkade