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Choosing Teaching
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Choosing Teaching

Summary:

Teaching is way more than just a job. Harrison tells you about why he chose to study teaching and reminds fellow teaching students why they chose to do this degree in the first place: to raise the next generation of artists, doctors, inventors and leaders.

Written by Harrison McGinn

A Doctor? A Nurse? A Teacher? The question teemed and tormented my ambitious brain. Something seventeen-year-old Harry harrowed over as the hands of time hovered. Each repetitive monotonous tick a reminder that soon, very soon, I would have to decide.

I remember the offer for teaching and how excitedly anxious I was. I remember my first placement and how large my smile stretched when students said, ‘Sir. I finally get it’. I remember tearful nights over piled-high textbooks. I can do this!

To choose teaching isn’t to choose a degree. It’s a challenge to pessimism – to give a voice to the voiceless, a hope to the hopeless, a home to the homeless. Nobody teaches without love for humanity. Four years ago, this degree seemed like the largest journey I would ever take, at times the adventure lost its meaning, but now the borders of this seemingly infante map are closing in.

Thank you card from students

Whatever reason you’ve chosen to study teaching, there are a million obstacles and rewards tapping at your door. Throughout my studies, there have been notes of exhaustion and doubt, alongside tunes of success and pride – each playing a part in shaping the song of the teacher I will become.

I wish to remind all my fellow peers why we’ve chosen this path:

We choose to teach because we are optimistic. Undoubtedly, we see the value of education in breaking the chains of poverty and creating a future where everyone has the opportunity to live the life they desire. We are the blacksmiths of careers, shaping the minds of tomorrow—doctors, nurses, artists, and more. Through the power of education, we grow calloused hands, guiding each student towards their ambition.

The Dingo Files

We choose to teach because we value identity. Communication is the cornerstone of democracy and the human experience. We don’t just teach students to read and write; we teach them how to live, feel, and share their identity. We encourage them to question our condition, to confront challenges, overcome stereotypes, and actively shape a propitious future. After all, in a dystopia, the first to burn are the pages.

Building words

We choose to teach because we are agents of empathy. We build relationships with students from all walks of life, often becoming the scaffolding, support, and foundation for their growth. We see students from broken homes and challenging backgrounds, and with unwavering care – both fierce and compassionate – we nurture them, helping them bloom even from the hardest soil.

Creating art

So, to all my peers, whether you’re beginning or ending your degree, never forget the importance of who you are. You have chosen the most noble and vital career and if you believe you were made for this, you will never fail. You are a teacher – the future is in your hands. So, what will you choose? Hold your head high, for your students are ready to learn and our future is still unwritten.

Inspiring the next generation

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