Trainee Teacher Optimism: “Why Would Anyone Want To Leave Teaching?”
Philip McCahill's new to the teaching game, but he's determined to remain upbeat about his chosen profession
- by Teachwire
My job is amazing. I have the ability to inspire children and help them achieve great things.
Although I’m very new to teaching, I truly believe in the impact that each and every teacher can have on the young people they work with. This is the reason I’m in this job.
And yet, in spite of the phenomenal opportunity I have to educate young people, I’m sometimes daunted by what I hear about the profession.
“Why are you doing it to yourself?”, people ask me. “Don’t do it! Get out while you can!” they say.
I am constantly reminded about poor teacher retention and what that might suggest about the stress and workload that come with the job.
After all the time, money and effort we each invest to become teachers, at this point in my career I find it hard to understand why anyone would want to leave.
However, if my loyalty to the job does waiver in the future or I begin to wonder why I became a teacher in the first place, I hope I can return to this piece and remind myself why I made that choice.
At different stages throughout my career, I’m prepared to be faced with a range of significant challenges.
As an NQT, I’ll probably worry about being observed and judged for not yet having a handle on things. With all that paperwork, assessment, marking and planning I’ll no doubt feel under scrutiny.
After a few years, I expect I’ll worry that I still haven’t got the answer all the time, even though people now expect me to know it all.
After ten years people will be coming to be for advice and I’ll be giving them feedback. I’ll have to make career choices and will worry that I don’t always know the best way forward.
When I’m a veteran of the teaching game, I might be expected to offer sage wisdom and advice to colleagues, but I hope I’ll still be learning and relying on younger staff to share the newest practice with me.
I know I’m never going to get it all perfectly right.
Circumstances and legislation will change and evolve as the years go by. But as a teacher I always want to be there, in school, working every day for the children in my class.
All teachers, whatever their experience, background or approach, need to come together and offer each other support, advice and feedback.
We need to learn from one another. We are all different, but we all bring something to the staffroom.
I urge you to seek out a colleague you think you can learn from. If you’ve been teaching for 20 years, talk to a NQT. If you’re a trainee, find the most experienced teacher in the room.
Go and find someone who has a different experience, approach or skillset and build a relationship with them. It will enable you both to continue to learn and grow your practice together.
I know that building these kind of relationships in the staffroom can be tough. I often find it difficult to relate to teachers who have been teaching a long time and I think they feel the same. I feel like I’ve only been in the job ten minutes, while they feel like they’ve been doing it for a lifetime.
If we can see past these perceptions and focus instead on what we can offer one another, I believe we can support each other to become the best possible educators and role models for the children we teach.
Philip McCahill is a trainee primary teacher and regional advocate for the Chartered College of Teaching. Follow him on Twitter at @PhilipMcCahill.
