I teach therefore I can: I am teacher
Education blog: Rachel Baig on how she came to work as a teacher and the joys that she derives from helping to shape the next generation.
I came into teaching late. I did not leave school and go straight to University to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a teacher writes Rachel Baig of the University of Wolverhampton.
On the contrary, at the time I was making my fledgling career choices, my father was a secondary school teacher and his 'lifelong dream' seemed rather problematic.
He spent hours marking, frequently came home late from staff meetings and was incredibly grumpy during term time.
He was a strict disciplinarian. Many years later his students told me that while he was always firm, he was also infinitely fair. I couldn't see it at the time so teaching was the farthest thing from my mind.
I was not a model teenager; I was a typical one. Whatever my elders advised I did the opposite.
I knew what was right for me and no adult was going to tell me otherwise. I knew what I wanted and that was to leave school at the earliest possible opportunity. I usually opted to go against my parents' wishes.
At school I was little different. If I did not understand what I was being taught I became disruptive. My behaviour had no malicious intent - it posed no threat to my teachers. Indeed, it posed more of a threat to me, as it interfered with my learning.
I was so bored of school. I could see no relevance or connection between what I was learning and the 'real world'. Not that I knew anything about the real world.
And my teachers made no attempt to create these connections, so learning became an irrelevance. School was simply somewhere that I went to socialise and keep warm.
Thousands of sixteen-year-olds drop out of the English education system every year. Many will have developed barriers to learning that may never be reversed. I still carry a phobia of Physics. Many will never return to education remaining in low paid jobs or unemployment for the rest of their working lives.
Several years ago the Government dubbed this group NEETs. It is an acronym for 'Not in Employment Education or Training'.
It carries a rather negative image with it, conjuring up images of hoody clad youths dossing about, drinking cheap alcohol on street corners and harassing people in parks.
By fixing a label to this group a tangible 'problem' is created that has the potential to adversely impact on the competitiveness of our economy.
The trouble with this label is that the 'problem' is sub-consciously 'fixed', and the blame for it apportioned, to a group of young people who have simply been failed by the system. Thus they are at once the perpetrators and the victims.
Instead of talking about problems we need to discuss solutions. We need to equip our teachers to help these students to navigate a route through the compulsory education system and enable them to make a smooth transition into an appropriate career path.
Many of our teachers do this every day: they empower our teenagers to see their own potential and grasp it with both hands. Sadly, my teachers did not.
Teaching teenagers is a joy, there is no struggle. Teenagers have so much potential to develop into anything or anyone that they want to be. They possess an innocent faith that the world is theirs for the taking. They are right.
The knack is in knowing how to harvest the potential. Working with these youngsters is astonishing and inspiring. There is no better reward than witnessing the transformation of a disruptive 'no hoper' into a conscientious, contributing member of society.
I am honoured to be a teacher. Even the toughest day 'at the office' becomes a fabulous day when I teach a class.
I don't teach in further education anymore; although, I do work closely with colleagues in the sector.
I was offered a position as a teacher educator ten years ago and I now work with initial teacher students and teachers who are developing their practice. I am one of life's lucky people. I am working in a job that I love. It is not a chore coming to work, it is a pleasure.
I can, so I do. Can you?
Rachel Baig is a Senior Lecturer in Post Compulsory Education at the University of Wolverhampton.