"Teaching's a crap job."

"I've done that crap job in Japan. People couldn't pay me enough to do that again. Besides I'm wanting a real job with a good future." This blanket statement appeared in response to a post on G+ where I've found most people are thoughtful with their comments.

If there's one way to get a whole profession offside, that's it. Dismiss every job even remotely associated with teaching as "crap" and with no future. Ouch. 

Needless to say, it was tempting to retaliate in kind, but I resisted the impulse and let my thoughts settle. What did I really think? Why did I feel so insulted?

This person didn't know I was a teacher, so presumably hadn't deliberately set out to be hurtful. But she also hadn't made any effort to assess her attitude or explore what she disliked about the position she'd held in Japan. 

I had thought of offering a few suggestions: questions she could ponder, people she could talk to, articles to read, perhaps some books. But after that rude statement, I didn't feel particularly generous. 

I replied as follows: 

“You may not have realised that by dismissing teaching as a 'crap" job and stating that it's a job with no real future, you're insulting every one of us who has devoted our lives to improving outcomes for students.

Students come in all varieties - they could be disability students, adults returning to study, migrants, special education children, crusty old blokes who need some workplace training, university students and a massive range of other people who need and seek skills from teachers. Are they really all 'crap' jobs with no future?

Without teachers in one form or another, essential skills couldn't be passed on to future generations as efficiently - think of bakers, pharmacists  doctors, nurses, aged care workers, road workers, engineers to name a few. 

The effect of hearing my profession dismissed rudely and thoughtlessly as a "crap" job with no future hurts.

You may have meant to say the position you had at a specific location in Japan didn't suit you or your personality. That would have been valid, honest, understandable and shown a courteous respect for others who have enjoyed a fulfilling career teaching in one form or another.”

In hindsight, there are things I could have added or discarded. Rearranging the paragraphs would have been good. However, I doubt it would have made any difference, the writer of the flippant statement didn't return. Some people have little desire in gaining self awareness and no interest in thinking about how their words and actions affect others.  

I wonder how many others have had their career described as a "crap job"? What do you say? How does it make you feel? Do you try to explain the positives or not bother at all?

You might have been working in the field for 30+years; moved from area to area adding to your enjoyment as you shed the aspects you dislike and focus more on those which compliment your interests, strengths and values.

I’ve written about my love of working with adults and those with learning difficulties in Learning Difficulties in Adults.  I've also discussed some of the challenges of working with adults who’ve become redundant in Redundancy Hurts. I've drabbled about teaching and students during the A - Z April blogging challenge - quite a few of the drabbles are included in this list.

The benefits of my teacher training course have stood the test of time and I’ve enjoyed many challenging roles as well as struggled though a few jobs that didn't suit me.

Whilst I now work mainly in as a career counsellor in private practice, I bring the skills of a teacher with me. The word ‘teacher’ doesn’t define me or my career, but it’s part of who I am and has provided me with rich insights and opportunities.

As a study skills teacher I’ve worked with young people as well as adults. It’s been at various times challenging, rewarding, stressful, infuriating and fulfilling. As I discovered gaps in my skillset, I upgraded and refined my skills: career counselling, learning difficulties, Acceptance Commitment Therapy and further courses in counselling.

Each of these courses has been taught by a teacher. On the whole they were keen, motivated and motivating professionals, encouraging their students to see, acknowledge and build on their strengths. To dismiss the profession globally as crap does a deep disservice to the dedicated people who help others improve their self esteem and job opportunities and even reach their potential. To imply that teaching is a job of lesser value is insulting to teachers and students worldwide.

If the person who made the above remark chooses to retrain, I wonder who they think will present the course? Will they be grateful for the opportunity to learn something new or build on an existing skillset? Will the course open up job prospects, provide entertainment in the form of a hobby, dance or exercise class or help her learn to cope with loss or bereavement?

By using the word "crap" a whole conversations has been closed down.  The opportunity to share, support and learn has gone. 

So while teaching might not suit everyone as a rewarding career it should be a valued and valuable profession. It's far more than a job and it can have a good future.

Who teaches circus skills?
Who passes on the knowledge of mosaic, how to train animals,
make The Big Top, costumes or railways?

Words are powerful, they have the ability to close down or open up dialogue. Which do you choose?

.

How to fail an exam. Success (almost) guaranteed!

I love presenting workshops on exam technique to adults. It’s immensely satisfying to explain the "magic" that helps some students sail through exams with flying colours. These are techniques that my adult students can easily adopt to help them succeed.

Adults returning to study often share how, at school, after failing an exam dismally, they put a brave face on, pretended to be cool and not to care. But in the safety of our classes they often open up. Some still burn with the shame of failure and occasionally break down in tears reliving the humiliation of their school days and failing exams.

When students are fearful, they don’t learn or remember easily. They clamp up - not a good start when going into an exam.

There’s often be a collective wail of despair when exam time comes around: “But I don’t know how to study. I don’t know how to answer the questions. I hate exams. I can’t do it.” 

In an effort to break the ice and have a laugh, I ask in all seriousness if anyone knows how to fail an exam. The looks say it all – “Oh crap, she’s lost the plot entirely, what do we do now?”

But of course they know how to fail an exam! They’ve done it often enough to be very familiar with the skills required. And the logic goes, if they know how to fail an exam, they also know the basics of how to pass – start by doing the opposite.

By working from the negative, it proves to each of them that they already know how to study! This lighthearted technique gets them to think about the problem differently, opens them up to another way of looking at the issue.

They already know what to do! Now all that remains is to choose which of the (opposite) actions they can incorporate into their lives with as little pain as possible.

This following is a somewhat tongue in cheek list, but still relevant with so many students working towards final year exams.

So, in a spirit of caring and sharing, during what is a very stressful time for many students, parents, caregivers and teachers, I present for your amusement:

How to fail an Exam:

Before:

• Attend as few classes as possible during the year 
• Sit at the back of the classroom and draw dirty pictures  
• Text friends during class 
• Sigh, moan and daydream 
• Disrupt the class as often as possible and get asked to leave 
• Don’t study - in any way shape or form - ever 
• Complain loud and often about how you’ll fail - negative self talk really helps
• Party the night before

During the exam:

• Don’t turn up 
• Cheat 
• Panic 
• Don’t read the question/s 
• Don’t answer the question/s 
• Answer the question with what you want to talk about rather than what is asked 
• In essays, when asked to present a rough outline, ignore the instruction
• Write illegibly (deliberately)
• In multiple-choice questions, tick all the options. Or none. Or scribble some out and circle others so the marker has no idea which is the answer you hope they'll notice

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but covers most of the tried and true methods my students had become expert at.

What else can you add?

Note: Most of my students went on to successfully pass their exams. There was no magic involved. They were interested in the courses, determined, enthusiastic and motivated to prove they could succeed.

.

Procrastination - a Drabble

If you'd started that course you researched four years ago, studying part time, you'd be finished by now

I know

How proud you'd feel!

Yes, I know

And what a sense of accomplishment

That's true

And right now, you'd have the framed 'Certificate of Completion' on your wall

Yes, I know
but back then, I wasn't sure,
I was scared to make a decision, any decision in case I got it wrong.

What's wrong? What's right?

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started" a wise person said.

Sometimes it's better to begin in uncertainty than not to begin at all.


***



***

A drabble is a story told in 100 words. No more. No less.


.

Some sensible career advice from an inspiring man.

To maintain my status as a member of the CDAA (Career Development Association of Australia), and like lots of other professions, I need to accrue the required number of Professional Development (PD) hours per year.

I like a good conference, and they’re generally an enjoyable way of adding PD hours. It’s always great to meet new people and catch up with colleagues from distant places. But sometimes I choose to go to a conference by myself to push myself outside my comfort zone, it's a good way to challenge myself to meet new people.

Apart from the general buzz of a conference, it’s also reassuring to confirm that my skills are up to date (always a plus) and have the opportunity to refine and fine-tune them. But the best part is being exposed to something completely new. (A BIG plus).

So, yesterday I tackled the freeways at an hour well before the pre-Christmas shopping hordes were awake, to accrue said PD hours.

Good oh, the first couple of sessions confirmed that I’m still on the right track, my skills are current, with a bit of fine-tuning possible. Yes, I’m satisfied: that’s as it should be.

But the last session – gosh! Riveting.

If you ever have the chance to listen to Andrew MacLeod go along. He forged a career path that initially appeared to be on a relatively ‘normal’ trajectory, but by giving things a go, and saying ‘yes’ to the challenges that came along, he has experienced a most amazing journey.

He’s an excellent presenter, and is passionate, knowledgeable and willing to speak his mind about politics, disaster relief and what makes a good career and the twists and turns his took! I've plucked some words from his bio: “recruited by the International Committee of the Red Cross to deal with military factions in Yugoslavia and Rwanda”, “Senior Adviser on Disaster Management”, “humanitarian teams”. "Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia".

As they would have said in the old days: “I dips me lid to him.”

Andrew McaLeod's story (Wikipedia) brought home forcefully the amazingly unexpected opportunities that are sometimes available in apparently ordinary lives. It shows what can happen when we're open to chance and put aside the shoulds and oughts to do something that aligns with deeply held values: Humanitarian. Social conscience. The concept of a fair go.

Andrew encouraged those of us working with young people to remind them not to get hung up on the choices they have to make in middle secondary school, but to be as flexible as possible. It was wonderful to hear someone with clout say things I’ve been privately grumbling about for years.

Just when young people are discovering who they are and what makes them tick, and many are beginning to grapple with the BIG life questions - Who am I? Where am I going? Where do I fit in the scheme of things? What's really important to me? they have to make restrictive choices about subjects and courses, based on minimal life experience and not really knowing who they will become or what opportunities will arise. Many students don't have a clear idea of their strengths and skills.

Some students make subject and course choices for interesting reasons: Some are based on like or dislike of a particular teacher, friendship groups and occasionally subjects are made with closed eyes and wishful thinking. Not great or useful in the long run, and sometimes with sad results.

However, Andrew MacLeod had received some excellent career advice from his mother that was along the lines of:

"Create as many options as possible,
and choose the best you can at the time”

And by living by those words, his life has been anything but ordinary.

I normally don’t buy the videos from a conference, but I made an exception here. I want my family to see and hear an inspirational speaker.

Go and hear Andrew MacLeod if you can, and embrace the possibilities that can occur when you allow the unexpected and unplanned into your life!

.

Add 'yet' to your vocabulary

All too often my students and clients say to me "I can't do it".

It's such a final statement, one which puts a full stop under learning, signs it off and tucks it away in a dungeon somewhere far away. Hands thrown up in despair and with a sense of failure and dejection. You get the picture, and it's rather bleak.

Maybe at this stage in their lives they genuinely feel unable to complete the task even with help and support. But there is one word I encourage them to add EVERY TIME they hear those words come from their mouth, no matter how sullenly uttered. And I get them to repeat the new phrase to me until it begins to roll naturally off their tongue.

Simply, add the three letter word "yet" to the sentence.

Just by doing this allows a breath of hope into the equation. It allows for growth, change and a whole new approach to the task.

So "I can't do it" becomes "I can't do it yet" with the unspoken "But maybe someday I will be able to".

And "I don't have the confidence" becomes "I don't have the confidence yet" with the unvoiced "But maybe someday I will".

It's liberating. Shoulders unhunch, faces relax, the sense of hopelessness and frustration some students and job hunters experience begins to loosen its grip.

Don't underestimate the power in adding this one, three letter word to negative sentences!



Please feel free to share your experience and comments.