So I’m saying goodbye to teaching in FE. It’s a bittersweet parting, as I owe the sector a lot when it comes to my career. I’ve said it before, but FE deals with second chances, and that’s not just true of the students.

At a time where I truly thought that I was done with the whole teaching malarkey, it provided somewhere that helped me regain my confidence - it was a place in education where I felt that I was doing some real good, as opposed to the desperate and ineffectual scrabbling that had been my raison d’etre previously. 

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A home in FE

No teacher is an island. You don’t function alone in this job and where you ply your trade is incredibly important to your effectiveness, your wellbeing, even your sense of self. For over a decade, I found a home in FE, an environment where I could fit in and enjoy teaching again.

And most of that enjoyment (although I’d never admit it to them) has been derived from the people that I’ve taught. The vast variety of ages, backgrounds and experience has meant that there’s rarely been a dull moment. I have had preconceptions challenged, been witness to incredible strength of character and had a right laugh as I’ve been doing it.

That’s one of the abiding memories I’ll take with me as I move on; the huge amount of joy I’ve experienced as I’ve flapped about in workshops and classrooms and hoped, at some point, those that I’ve flapped at have learned something along the way.

Seeing people achieve goals

It’s joy in the relationships I’ve built with learners, the jokes that we’ve shared and watching those you’re lucky enough to be in contact with for a short time grow and flourish. It’s the joy in seeing people achieve their goals (no matter how lofty or how small) and then go on knowing that they’re a little bit more prepared to handle what’s going to be thrown at them. It’s the joy in watching them find work in their chosen field, or go on to access other learning. I will take that joy with me. There’s been so much of it, it’s impossible not to.

The sector isn’t perfect. We’re a little bit behind on pedagogy and approach and we have a terrible habit of readily accepting the thin end of the wedge with nary a grumble and we’re yet to find an assertive, distinctive voice in educational dialogue, but - weighed against the good that is done - I don’t think we do too badly at all.

Although I won’t be teaching in FE, I’ll always rep for a sector that does so much with so little and has improved the chances of countless students who attend up and down the country. I’ll keep on speaking out for the sector and its students who have relatively little voice. It’s the least I can do in return for all it has done for me.

Here’s to you, FE.

Tom Starkey until this week taught English at a college in the north of England