Teachers...let's accept some responsibility.

I have been a teacher for 17 years. I absolutely love being a teacher. I have been fortunate enough to study teaching and then teach in several different countries; and more often that not, the same issues appear within the education sector in these varying contexts. Of late, the one that appears to be garnering a lot of media attention and has certainly caught my eye is the never-ending battle to attract and retain teachers within the industry.

This is not one of those reflections that goes into all the variety of challenges and why people are leaving teaching…those have been researched and have had points well made by people a great deal smarter than me. No, this is about what we should be doing more of as teachers… and yes, I am well aware that millions of teachers will already be screaming, “we can’t do more! We are worked to the bone!” But, it has nothing to do with workload, rather our outlooks.

As a young, first year teacher, I will never forget the lecture I got from @AlexGitlin, when he overheard me tell a Year 12 who was thinking about teaching that he should look at all his options. It was a lesson well learned, and his point was well-made- you chose teaching, you are good at it and having fun, start selling it so that we can keep getting good people, never underplay it. Yet, it frustrates me every year, that I have to have that same conversation with so many of my colleagues: Why are you talking some of our fantastic Year 12s out of considering teaching as a profession?

In secondary schools the world over, Year 11s and 12s take on various forms of work experience as they assess their options about what career they may pursue one day. The privilege we have as teachers, is that every day we get to show them what an amazing career and job teaching is, essentially every day is work experience. But I am not sure we always use the opportunity the way we should. Being energetic, enthusiastic, organized and excited about what we are doing, whether it is teaching a class, running a debating meeting or coaching a sports team goes a long way to setting the tone for those students in our care who are always watching, whether we like it or not.

I am not saying teaching is the perfect world where everything is roses and rainbows, but if it’s not for you, then leave. If you are teaching, take responsibility for that privilege and take responsibility for selling our profession as an attractive one, rather than making it look like an arduous undertaking.

When I think back on some the happiest and most enjoyable times of my teaching career, it comes as no co-incidence and is indeed a great source of pride that many of the students I taught in those years, later became teachers themselves. I would like to think a lot of that was down to watching the teachers who taught them and how much we enjoyed our environment, how much it meant to us, that it convinced many of them to become teachers.

So…let’s take responsibility for selling a different narrative to those young impressionable teenagers about teaching. We love to tell our students: “You are the best advert for what happens in a school”, let’s accept that as teachers, we are the best advert for our profession and let’s make a difference in changing the perception of teaching as a career to the graduates of our schools.