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A Personal Post: Teaching and change
Hi all. Normally I do a post on history, politics, religion, culture or the state of modern Ireland.
Whilst I enjoy immensely doing these under the guise of anonymity and the versatile responses of Ricochet readers, I do sometimes wonder am I just being negative for the sake of it or an outlet for negativism in a world which already has more than its share of it. Given the weekly evils of Manchester and what happened to our Christian brothers and sisters in Egypt yesterday and all the other evils in the world does one really need to come on to read another opinion on the subject. So for tonight I’m going to write about something else. I’m going to write about my job.
For those who do not know me, I’m a secondary school teacher (equivalent of High School) in the Republic of Ireland. I am qualified to teach three subjects and have been qualified for several years. I did an Arts Degree in History and Economics in one of Ireland’s southern universities, and when I was finished I went straight into a Teaching Degree. Since 2012 I have been teaching and subbing, predominately the latter in the South East region of Ireland.
Teaching in modern Ireland is both a wonderfully rewarding and immensely frustrating experience. It is immensely rewarding to work with teenagers when they behave. Sure some drive you insane. Sure they annoy you. Sure they can be a pain. But they also are capable of great kindness, honesty and charity, in addition to amazing you with their opinions on current events and their knowledge of various subjects. In many respects it is an immensely rewarding job.
In fact my biggest complaint (aside from the behavioral issues – which is a post in of itself) is the lack of full time work with them, not the overload of it. For you see in Ireland it is very hard for young teachers to get positions in a school. One has to have the right subjects, be in the right time and place, have the right experience and in Ireland of course know the right people. There is a phrase that Irish people know very aptly. That is: “It’s not what you know, its who you know……” As a result I have spent a huge amount of the last few years working as a substitute teacher, sometimes teaching subjects I know very well, sometimes not. It can be dispiriting at times, one can guess. Also it can be very seasonal, sub work tends to be congregated at certain times of the year coupled with weeks without anything. Its not for nothing that many teachers end up leaving the profession.
Anyway I’ll try and stay away from the negative and focus on the pluses of teaching tonight. Since Spring 2017 I have been primarily subbing in a coastal town in the South East. It has been an interesting but overall enjoyable experience. Whilst it has had the drawbacks of lack of set work, and supervising students not teaching them, it has had its many many upsides.
The joys of being a substitute teacher are that in younger classes regardless of your qualifications (they wont know) or your expertise (again they don’t know) you can work away with them in that subject, you can ask questions of them, and you can direct them to do items which they will do. Additionally I often find that I can also bring in my own knowledge from my subjects and thus enlighten the subject or at very least give them some help which in right class can be rewarded with courtesy and respect.
In older ages this doesn’t happen. Unless work has been left for them, its very unlikely substitute teachers will be able to engage in the teaching of subjects outside of their competency. The older pupils would smell it a mile away and be quick to expose or show up the teacher. (It has happened) Nevertheless with a good class of students and particularly with final year students (17 or 18 years here, known as Leaving Certificate Students) whilst one may not be able to teach them Biology or Home Economics, one can have with them both an informative conversation and get to know them as future adults. It can be intriguing listening to them as they plan their futures, share their advice on beautiful locations in their town (I’m a non native) and the wisdom they have learnt in their schools. For my part I give them advise, but I also to try to inform them not just on decisions to make with regards study, exam advise or college choice but on what they may have missed out in school.
As a History teacher in Ireland, I never tire of hearing the inaccuracies that many students have picked up about their country’s history or West’s from ignorant teachers who rarely question what they themselves have been wrongly taught, inaccurate books, bad television and bad gossip. I find it necessary to correct the record. It is almost a compulsion with me. I feel obliged to do so. For those who want to imagine what this entails, I urge you to look back at previous articles I’ve written on this website, trust me there are many…. They begin, with Real History….
The students for their part have told me face to face that they enjoy this debunking. From this one can easily build up a rapport with pupils regardless if they know your a substitute. If a teacher knows his/her subject very well (guilty), students respect it. That’s my opinion anyway. They also are more likely to respect you. Three weeks ago I had the pleasure of hearing from some Final year students that there was an exceptionally smart new teacher in school who was subbing in various subjects. Life does have its joys and compliments albeit quietly.
Alas there was some sad event that occurred this week in school with regards the final years. The last week of May 2017 in Ireland is Graduation week. Before they undergo their exams, they are given a week’s holiday so that by the time of mid June they are ready to under-go the toughest exams of their life – the Leaving Cert. It is a rite of passage in many schools. So it was in mine.
The students graduated on 26th Friday 2017. As this was a Catholic school there was a Mass where all the students received a blessing from the presiding priest, some exceptionally good advice too (not a terrible sermon) and were charged with being kind to the teachers their parents and themselves. They then received a certificate from the school, and with Mass over they went back to the school for photos and with their parents.
I was there for both. Whilst I was happy for the students, part of me was also sad. Even though I had not been in school long the students I found myself mostly teaching or supervising were those in 6th year. As such I was saying goodbye to students who not only made their school nice but made me very welcome.
As I returned into the school I was struck by the event. But then I realized this has to happen. Its best for them. As I entered into reception area where some refreshments were being offered, upon exchanging pleasantries with some of the staff, some of whom I am now friends with, I also made it my business to shake hands with and congratulate students on their graduation, and also to give some final advice. Many of the students were very friendly, exchanging thanks and asking for (or being given) advice. One student even hugged me. Some I exchanged small chit chat. More was just a handshake and a congrats. Many whose names I did not know but whose faces I did, got this treatment. Once this was done and having handed in some documents into the staff room. I left the school perhaps for the rest of the summer. I would love to get a full time job in this school. Or worst case a years contract in this school or a similar one. Say a prayer for me that I do.
Even now as I type I don’t know am I sad simply due to saying goodbye or because its a constant reminder of life. Life moves on. Those students are going. As am I.
Ten Years ago this week I left my school for college. Whose to say what life has in store. Only God knows where….
Published in General
I dont know if the title is right, but the music is.
Please comment away. And yes I know the music is stunning.
Blessings and Thanks, as ever, Paddy! What a wonderful piece. May the road continue to ‘rise up with you’ (speaking of correcting inaccuracies) wherever it leads you next! Prayers for a permanent position, if I may…
[P.S. Thanks for the meltingly gorgeous John Barry music. Most of his scores are favorites of mine.]
Bittersweet, but you have given the best part of yourself to help young people that are just beginning to start their own journey. You cannot be sure how great an influence you have had, but you might be surprised. Your name will probably come up in a conversation you’ll never hear, a conversation about a teacher they had in their school days, and how much they respected you and how much they enjoyed your classes.
Pax Christi friend
Indeed the music was stunning. It is nice to know more about you. I always enjoy your posts. I hope you receive the teaching position you desire. Too many good history teachers on standby.
Thank you, Paddy! Fair seas and following winds as your life moves on!
My favourite Doug. Thats a wonderfully written thought. Thanks.
I hope more people see this post. I like it. Thanks everyone for the nice comments.
Fascinating.
I was a teacher in the Jesuits. Had I stayed in, I’d probably have taught philosophy or logic in one of our colleges. But when I first left the Society, I needed to get a job to tide me over until they started hiring teachers, and I landed a temp job, where they needed IT help. I knew enough about IT to keep the temp job, and it paid more than the teaching did.
While I was there for a while, I took the chance to teach myself about databases. (This was before the internet, I actually had to read books.) Pretty soon, I could pass the certifications, and next thing you know I was a database guy, being paid enough to raise a family. But I always thought about going back to teaching.
Why fascinating? My oldest son was graduated from college last fall, and immediately went into substitute teaching. He lucked into a longer-term gig at a high school south of Baltimore. And just yesterday, he informed us that they liked him so much that they offered – and he accepted – a full-time contract for next year.
My son’s a teacher.
I’m proud of my son, and I’m proud to know you, Paddy. So I’ll say to you what I said to my son .., you’re in an important place in their lives … so don’t screw it up.
A lovely post, Paddy. May I ask a couple of questions? What advice did the priest give the students? And what advice did you yourself offer them? Deciding what to say to students at the end of the school year is very tricky. I’d love to hear how an experienced priest and a fine teacher (that would be yourself) handle the problem.
Hi, Paddy. I have done a fair amount of substituting, and I certainly think from what you’ve written that a lot of experiences in education are fairly universal.
While school systems in the United States do things like call for computer submitted CVs so that interviews are “fair,” principals still only call the people they actually know.
For this reason–at least here–it is good to introduce yourself to every department head and principal you can find when at any school, and it is really, really good to talk to any women who are pregnant to see who is going to be covering their upcoming maternity leaves. (I was a pregnant woman stalker, let me tell you.)
I am certified to teach in two subjects: English and History. I worked in one secondary school where I thought the approach to literature was downright criminal, so I would not apply for a full time position, even when told it was open, after my time there was through. (I was in charge for 8 weeks because someone was out having a baby, you see, which is always the best situation for a sub because the class becomes yours.) Sometimes being a sub shows you where you don’t want to be as much as anything else, right?
Anyway, I had students at that particular school that I loved teaching. I had students at that school who wanted to make my life miserable and sometimes did, for sure. I still have the coffee mug from the kid who made me cry when on my last day she gave it to me and told me “thank you” for teaching her more than she’d learned the rest of the year. (Again, I hated how that school’s English department approached literature, so I ignored a lot of what I was told to do and simply did what I thought was more effective.)
It’s such a challenging, maddening, rewarding profession.
Anyway, you clearly have the heart of a teacher. I will pray that God helps you find the right school. (He will, you know. He’s put in you your vocation, after all. I mean, He gave you your calling.)
Until then, keep learning what you can from all those darling students… all those less than ideal assignments. I’m sure it’s worthwhile for you AND for them. That’s why you feel bittersweet at the end. That’s why it’s good there will be another term as well.
You’re just honing your skills, and every new batch of kids you’ll ever encounter will include a few you’ll remember long after they’re gone.
I spent a semester subbing once back in the late 70’s, science. Junior and senior high. By the end of the semester, I had teachers asking for me sub for them, and had offers of long term deals for the next smemster. I think my success was based mostly on the fact that I tried to do what they asked me to do, and I left them detailed notes on what had gone on. But I decided to return to another field for which I was qualified, teaching was too hard!
I’m sure you’ll get a position if you stick with it.
Thanks a million everyone for liking the post and getting it promoted to the main page. Keep liking it sure. As for Peter’s exceptional kind words. I will be responding to his comment here in a while. Thanks.
This could be a long response Peter ha.
I was surprised at the priests words. Normally these things in Ireland tend to be very PC boring and non interesting. This priest in his sermon was opposite. He talked about dangers of individualism in his sermon particularly at the kinds of choices many of them will now be faced outside of school and what it could do. He talked about the fact he recognised many were probably non practicing Catholics or even hostile to idea of God but he said that God was always open to them to turn back to when times got tough. He warned about dangers of mindfulness and how it was empty or something to that effect without God. He also told them to thank their parents and their teachers for everything they had done. Even if they didn’t always get on or see eye to eye. Finally he told them all to watch out for each other.
As for myself I had prior to this day talked to the students and given them some advice. I gave some advice about my alma mater UCC where some were going. But also words of warning. Mainly however I talked both at the school after the mass and in the school priors tips about studying and advice on my subjects in the exam. To nearly all at the school I shook their hand and wished them well. I forgot to say I was praying for them. I rarely talked over a minute with most of them. I just gave them study tips with regards the best hours to study, when not to do study, that first four hours in morning are great for studying before exam – a fact I learnt in college and scientifically proven – and then try not to study in evening especially the night.
For those who were doing History which is a paper dominated by several long essays I warned them on dangers of going overtime and how clock goes so fast. I also given them study guides as to this subject which some of them accepted.
I told them that I was going to be in another school for June as an exam worker so its unlikely I’ll see them again there. I wished most of them the best wishes, some of whoms names escaped me. I actually wish I’d said I’d pray for them or give them St. Jude patron saint of miracles and lost causes. But alas I did not. Hopefully I will see them some other day.
Good for you, Paddy. You’re doing righteous work. I’ll be praying for your full time slot.