Let us let the students speak... cheers Biggsie. Work produced in 13 Communications.

So, you want to be a teacher? 

Teaching is an important profession as you hold the responsibility of shaping the minds of the youth, who someday will have the power to pave the way for our future as a society. Of course, you’re not thinking that while in the classroom but what would life look like without teachers? I talked with Miss Angela Smith about what it is to be a teacher and her experiences during her time as a teacher.

I first asked what do you do with students who are capable of passing but are willing to give no effort in class? I was told for many teachers it’s different especially at our school. Here at St Thomas’s, we have a strong emphasis on relationships, and she sees herself as a “mother” to some students and acts accordingly. She constantly checks in with students, making sure they’re on top of their schoolwork and not falling behind. She has a very important role as dean of year 13 students and has the job of making sure they’re all on track to pass the year with University Entrance requirements as well. Teachers understand school is not for everyone and can be difficult for some students. They have to find ways to work around that and cater the work do different learning styles so that students aren’t wasting their time doing nothing in the classroom. She said, “it doesn’t always work but you have to try your best to keep as many students as you can engaged in what they’re learning”.

We touched on the topic of are teachers being paid correctly, and she believed they are paid at quite a fair rate. Of course, there have been problems in the past about fair rates, but she said if teachers keep pushing it and eventually get paid too much and then fit into a higher socio-economic bracket, then they will struggle to understand and relate to what other people are going through. That would have a big impact on relationships with students and students’ parents. Especially if some students’ families are going through financial hardship.

Teaching at a single sex school is much different to teaching at a co-ed school with many different pros and cons. Miss Smith’s largest recognised difference is the behaviour of students. At an all-boys school students behave very differently. They hit each other, cuss and treat the environment pretty poorly. Their priorities and standards are completely different to co ed schools. She said if you put boys in a class with girls you start to see their behaviour change instantly. They stop hitting each other, they start to smarten up and act more formal and attentive in class, as if they were trying to impress the girls and portray themselves as mature. This makes teaching a lot easier as students are paying attention more often and are willing to put in effort.

So, you want to be a teacher? Teaching and learning is different for everyone and that is a key factor in this career. You hold an important job of teaching many students in many different ways at the same time. It’s a difficult job but very rewarding at the same time, you have the power to nurture and shape the minds of the youth and turn them into key minds of the future. 

Like I said earlier on, what would society look like without teachers?

By Phelix Woods