Why is teaching such a great job? When Tes Scotland posed that question in a spur-of-the-moment tweet, the replies poured in - and led one teacher to describe the rapidly expanding thread as the “best advertising for teaching I have seen in a long time”.
Whether it was a reaction to negative coverage of education or a sign of renewed enthusiasm before a new school year, it struck a chord that rippled around the world. Some said they relished a rare chance to portray teaching in a positive light. One school leader even used it in CPD to inspire her colleagues.
Amid this wave of positivity, however, there were reminders that problems such as recruitment crises and mounting workload can suck the joy out of teaching. There were common themes to the replies: teaching is a calling, no day is ever the same, no job is better than helping to improve countless young lives. Gillian Campbell-Thow (@SenoraCT), chair of the Scottish Association for Language Teaching and Scotland’s Teacher of the Year in 2014, said: “The thread gave people a chance to remind themselves why they love what they do and why they still do it. It was the best advertising for teaching I have seen in a long time. The love for teaching is alive and kicking.”
‘Positive reaction’
Recently retired Borders primary headteacher George Gilchrist (@georgegilchrist), a fellow of the Scottish College for Educational Leadership (Scel), said “timing is everything”. The original tweet appeared “just as everyone was thinking of returning for the new school year, and after another summer of teacher-bashing headlines”. Similarly, Kenny Pieper (@kennypieper), an English teacher at Duncanrig Secondary School in East Kilbride, said the question had “such a positive reaction because it came at a time when we are all feeling a bit under the spotlight, and not necessarily in a positive way - national testing, Teach First, literacy and numeracy, too many holidays, etc, etc”.
Mr Pieper said that “all we ever hear in the press are negative stories about schools”, echoing recent comments from high-profile figures in Scottish education such as Scel chief executive Gillian Hamilton. Yet he saw many positives through work with online teachers’ network Pedagoo and the University of Strathclyde, and in reaction to columns he writes for Tes Scotland. “I witness a committed, talented and a hard-working profession (mostly), determined to do the best for our kids,” he said, adding: “Perhaps we’re not often asked about the positives.”
‘Inspiring and moving’
Robert Macmillan - who teaches modern studies at Inverkeithing High School in Fife and is one of Scotland’s most-followed teachers on Twitter (@robfmac) - said the thread “gave us a chance to focus on the fundamental reasons why we become and remain teachers”, similar to the weekly #PedagooFriday hashtag which asks teachers to share the highlight of their week.
He added: “We can often be our own worst enemies with respect to alerting people to the challenges [teachers] face, as this can dominate the attention or the discussion. However, it’s important that we can reflect on what we are here to do.”
Lena Carter, an acting headteacher in Argyll and Bute (@lenabellina), tweeted that the thread “went down a storm as the motivational starter in my CPD today”.
She had been looking for “something to kick off the session that would help my colleagues to combat their own start-of-term anxieties and doubts”, as “there is something about the return to school after a long holiday that makes most teachers irrationally anxious - we are racked with thoughts of ‘What if I’ve lost it?’”
Then, “as if by magic”, she saw the original message from Tes Scotland asking teachers to tweet “why teaching is such a great job”. Ms Carter made a presentation with some of the “inspiring and moving replies”, then asked her colleagues to write responses.
“There was a sudden shift of energy in the room,” she recalled.
“That anxious, irritable ‘Why are we wasting time listening to her again when we could be doing more useful things?’ atmosphere, which often pervades CPD sessions, melted away and people were suddenly deeply engaged in reflection.”
Yet amid all the upbeat tweets - from all sectors and stages of career, and from Atlanta, Georgia, to Georgia in the Caucasus - there were a few reminders that not all is rosy. One physics teacher who took early retirement said it was the “best job in the world” but “ruined by workload”, while another retiree loved working with “wonderful young people” but “the management spoiled it”.
