Amy* has been teaching for five years. She spent the first couple of years learning the ropes, building up her confidence, building a rapport with her colleagues and students. She deploys her teaching wisdom with ease. But she’s got itchy feet. It’s time to learn something new.
She browses a range of CPD conferences, considers starting a blog or a podcast, and even looks further afield to higher positions in different colleges.
But what if the best learning opportunity wasn’t in any of those places? What if it wasn’t even in education? What if it was, actually, in industry?
These are questions that Christine Hodgson, chairman of consultancy firm Capgemini, has considered. She argues that teachers would benefit from exposure to other workplaces through short placements.
“With the best will in the world, how can a teacher talk about all the different jobs that are available in a company? You get so much out of a textbook, but just spending a short amount of time embedded within a company [can help],” she said.
She cites Teach First as a good example - the training provider ensures that teachers have a work placement outside of the classroom. “I think it is great and I think the more that employers can do it, the more it will help. I think that over time, as the careers leader gets really rooted in the schools, with proper training and more engagement with the local communities, their own eyes are going to be opened much more to what is going on.”
So what do you reckon? Do you fancy a month working at a law firm? Or as an estate agent? Or even experiencing the wonderful world of journalism in an exciting, fast-paced newsroom with a lovely(ish) team (just saying, our door is always open…)?
*Is her name. But she’s not real. We’ve just made her up.
