Education as a hobby

In the last month, I had an epiphany. I attended the funeral of Evelyn O Connor's father, Pat who I had known for over twenty years. For a decade before my teaching career, I was very involved in underage and women's soccer as was Pat. Pat was the first person to talk to me at my first Mayo League delegates meeting which was a scary experience for a newly elected club secretary who was just 10 days past his 18th birthday. I had a few battles with Pat and his partner in crime, MM ( who I think was the most devious of the pair!) on the sidelines and meeting room, but within women's football I would have had to deal with Pat a fair bit more as an ally rather than adversary. We shared some good days in the old Belfield Park and Richmond Park and some sad days attending funerals of colleagues gone before their time.

I was chatting to a native of Ballyhaunis just before the hearse arrived at the church. He mentioned that Pat was often more busy with his hobbies than his actual job. I too was like Pat prior to becoming a teacher; soccer coaching, league administration, scouting, Community Games, President's Award meant that I could be out of the house 5 evenings a week. In the church while Evelyn's brother listed all Pat's extracurricular activities, I tried to remember why I gave up my own. The time demands of extracurricular activities were replaced with education related activities as I tried to get a job teaching over the past 14 years. I became really serious in upskilling myself after various years of unemployment and teaching other subjects just to be teaching.  I attended all SLSS/PDST History in-service that I could get to as well as subscribing to HA Teaching History periodical, attending INSET events in the UK etc. as well as the dozens other events I attended in UK and wider afield. A masters did not help me to be anymore employable as history teacher.  When I qualified as a teacher, the career aim was to be teaching Leaving Cert history in the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. I now know that this is not going to happen.

Waiting for the epiphany? Coming to it.

Because of my IT background, I had more success with my IT skills getting work in education but it is not the reason why I got into teaching. The various jobs I had in ICT in education kept the hope going but the epiphany I had was that I had not a career in education but had education as a hobby. As a result, I am cutting education loose.  Last month, I resigned from the executive of CESI prior to the AGM and will wind down from the various stuff I have been involved in over this year as I look for a new career. To be honest, I have not enjoyed BETT or any of the Irish ed-tech conferences over the past year as it feels like, (to an unemployed teacher looking on at people doing cool stuff in the classroom) being like a leper at an orgy. It is no fun not being able to take part. I have promised a few people to do education related stuff for them which I won't renege on so you might see me at a few events in 2015. I have to acknowledge the fact that at 40 years of age, that classroom teaching now has past me by and waiting on the dole for the phone to ring for a day sub cover is a young person game. I cannot see the logic in applying for teaching jobs in Ireland any more. No notification from schools erodes the hope. Saying that even now as I write this, if the phone rang offering teaching hours tomorrow I would still take it.

Why change now? March 1st was the marker where I am now entering the longest period of being unemployed since I finished college. There are a lot more teachers in the same position as me and they are the ones forgotten about as unions play power politics in reinforcing their position to resist change. I have been vocal over the past year or so which has gotten some angry DMs and emails telling me I was doing something stupid. Maybe I am but if angry principals are influenced by my tweets of rage they should have been also influenced by my tweets of good, which as not happened. I don't plan to stop being vocal, even if I do get another job.  Teachers in my position learn to be invisible, don't rock the boat and keep your mouth shut. If you want me to shut up- offer me 22 hours with Leaving Cert History, my principles are that cheap. I gave up blogging in 2006 because I was afraid that anything googleable might hinder my employability but blogs are still a new word to a lot of principals, so I need not have worried.      

Since I qualified as a teacher St. Patrick's Day was traditionally the day I would update my CV but since I have not worked any more than one day in a school this year, I don't have to do it.

Irish education is at a crossroads in a time of change and turmoil and I don't think muddling through is a viable approach by the DES. Maybe I am really smart looking to get out now but failure to teach even one solitary Leaving Cert history class in 14 years won't leave me either. I don't see the Irish education system capable delivering a 21st Century even though the CESI cohort are probably the most closest in doing it. We should not be trying to do what the Finns have done but put ourselves in a position that the Finns are coming to us to find out what we are doing.  We need vision and leadership to over see a complete overhaul from teacher training, to how teachers are employed, standard of teaching, building 21st Century schools and the role of technology in society.  Every teacher should be adding to the vision and leadership but I think with a large minority of teachers, it is lacking. We have a cohort of teachers who are functionally digital illiterate and many are quite happy to stay that way. We are nearly 15% through the 21st Century & we have teachers who have not evolved from how they were taught in 1985. And that, more than anything else, makes me sad.  

So over.