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People (rightly) ask: Why would anyone be a teacher? For some it's genuinely a calling, a vocation. The buzz you get from seeing the lights go on, from making
by ColinWright 5y ago
People (rightly) ask: Why would anyone be a teacher?
For some it's genuinely a calling, a vocation. The buzz you get from seeing the lights go on, from making a difference, from seeing a student blossom, is unequalled.
But external pressures are squeezing that out, and the utter neglect of the teachers and utter contempt for the profession is finally catching up.
The warning signs have been there for decades, the momentum is growing, and it may now be too late.
- olliej 5y agoI think the biggest indicator of a problem is that now even those people for whom it’s a “calling” are leaving the field. Epecially those in public education
- hiptobecubic 5y agoYes I think public education is the worst option for people who want to become teachers because they love teaching, which is not a good sign.
- nmstoker 5y agoPresumably the "calling" is the aspect that has been abused in order to underpay teachers. In my experience they are underpaid across the board but particularly in public sector roles (at least in the UK). What's interesting, and isn't something the article covers, is that demand side at the high end is nearly insatiable. Private schools in London consistently increase fees well above inflation year after year and never fail to fill places. The teachers there do okay but it's hardly stellar pay and although many of the schools discourage teachers tutoring it's commonly the way that income is boosted.
- barry-cotter 5y agoI have several teachers in my family and have been teaching for 11 years. In my life I have met at most four people for whom teaching is a calling. Teaching is a job, not a priesthood. Some people really like their job but when they retire they wave goodbye and that’s it. A very large majority of teachers view it as a job.