The Appeal Of Teaching

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31480, 21 September 1967, Page 11

The Appeal Of Teaching

(Bv an Education Department officer) Would you think for a few moments about the men and women who taught you at primary school ? You will find it difficult to remember some, mere shadowy figures in the background of your consciousness. Others will stand out in sharp relief and I wish you to concentrate on one of these. What was there about him that appealed?

He- was no paragon of virtue. He had his little weaknesses which you liked to uncover, but he also had his strengths and his enthusiasms. Almost certainly he liked people and went out of his way to get to know them—you and your classmates, your parents, those who taught with him in the school. He was straightforward and, above all, fair in his dealings with you. He wished that you should do well at your lessons, but he also seemed to want you to be happy. He gave you the Impression that you were important to him whether you were prominent or quite inconspicuous in the class.

Because of all this he was a contented man. If you like people in that way, then teaching may very well bring satisfaction and contentment for you. Take Peter Sanders. Ten years ago he entered Teachers’ College. He was prepared to work hard for he

had chosen a professional career. While there he also attended the university where he passed three units towards his B.A. degree. He found he was able to follow to some depth the subjects which particularly Interested him and he made the most of this vital and important period. Where is this young man now? Two years ago Peter, with his wife and two children, moved to a schoolhouse in the country to'take up an appointment in a small school of 15 pupils where he was the sole teacher. Here Peter found plenty to do, much stimulation and some of the contentment already mentioned.

He’s a fellow who enjoys his work, mixes well with people and has some ability in sport In his first summer in the district he played cricket, represented his minor association and this year is secretary of the local club. Wintertime found him playing golf at the ninehole course 10 miles away and in spite of the greens, he managed to reduce his handicap. He had his first experience as an auditor when the treasurer of a club in the district knocked at his door one night and politely informed him that the school teacher always did the books.

Then there was the time the pump supplying water from the well to both school and house broke down. Peter learned more of pumps and pipes in those two hours than he’d discovered in the

rest of his life, but it worked when he'd finished. He has had to bandage cuts, milk cows for a sick neighbour. help to settle a longstanding argument between two families in the district, judge handwork at a flower show, and perform a hundred and one title duties outside the classroom. But teaching in this school is a joy to Peter. He appreciates the confidence the children have in him and the mutual interest they all have in the district and those things affecting' their lives. He finds knowing his children well and seeing their development over a period of time rewarding. The relationships he has built up in the classroom and out in the playground are most satisfying. Then there is the comradeship which has grown between Peter and the men teaching in neighbouring schools of a similar type—the meetings and “get-togethers” which are so important both professionally and socially. Peter is a busy man, but he’s living and being a useful and respected member of the community. What future does teaching hold for him? He could receive promotion in country schools. But if he chose, there are many possibilites open, especially at the present time wth education developing so vigorously. Intermediate schools are now firmly a part of our system, while area and Form I-VI schools are being established.

Peter eoujd return to the city as a senior assistant or a headmaster. He could become a lecturer at a teachers’ college or join one of the specialist or advisory services. Promotion is largely a personal matter depending upon ambition, interests and teaching ability, but for an able fellow like Peter are many opportunities available.

Teaching means hard work. Study, planning and preparation of lessons, marking work and reporting are all demanding, but the joy Of meeting a former pupil in later life and seeing the results of the part you played in his development makes the whole thing worth while. Perhaps you could be the teacher a pupil will remember for the rest of his life.