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Teaching - one of the most important jobs in any society
3rd February 2023
As you may do, I enjoy listening to BBC Radio 4’s “thought for the day” on my way to work.
On Wednesday, the day on which many teaching colleagues were taking strike action to be heard, the Rt Rev Nick Baines (Anglican Bishop of Leeds) summed up eloquently just how critical teachers are to our society. He expressed many of the thoughts that have been on my mind this week, and because he put it so perfectly I’d like to quote him directly.
“I genuinely think teachers do one of the most important jobs in any society and we should value them accordingly. The main thing about teaching is that obviously it’s really about learning. We give our children into the hands of other adults for hours every day and expect them to be nurtured; body, mind and spirit.
…teaching is not about force-feeding information into soon-to-be-active ‘economic receptacles’, but rather about curating character, shaping a world view, forming a mind, opening up the world, stimulating curiosity.
…a society that sees the economy as an end rather than a means to an end - human flourishing - will never value the intangible work of shaping personality, character and community.
…teachers do important work on behalf of the rest of us.”
I can vividly remember certain teachers from my school days; adults who shaped my world view, nurtured my development, encouraged my interests and built my self-confidence to try new things.
I was very fortunate to meet great teachers at different points in my (state) education, and I am certain that without them I would not have had the life experiences and opportunities that I’ve been given. Mr Harris, the junior school teacher who nurtured my love of reading. Mr Torrance, the cello teacher who helped my early love of playing music. Mr Harris (the second one!), my secondary school maths teacher who never gave up on me despite my very obvious utter lack of natural ability in his subject! My A level teachers, who encouraged me to believe that I could make it to university (this was quite a leap for the grand-daughter of north-eastern coal miners), and then my university lecturers who really opened up the world for me, engendering my love of modern foreign languages as a way of building human connections and literature as a source of joy, support and mental challenge.
Thanks to these teachers, and many others, I remain a lover of learning; curious, interested and passionate about giving children the best possible opportunities to build happy, successful lives.
We need great teachers. Without them, we are sunk. I truly believe it is as simple as that.
Ashley Stapledon, Operations Coordinator, Learning Partners
As you may do, I enjoy listening to BBC Radio 4’s “thought for the day” on my way to work.
On Wednesday, the day on which many teaching colleagues were taking strike action to be heard, the Rt Rev Nick Baines (Anglican Bishop of Leeds) summed up eloquently just how critical teachers are to our society. He expressed many of the thoughts that have been on my mind this week, and because he put it so perfectly I’d like to quote him directly.
“I genuinely think teachers do one of the most important jobs in any society and we should value them accordingly. The main thing about teaching is that obviously it’s really about learning. We give our children into the hands of other adults for hours every day and expect them to be nurtured; body, mind and spirit.
…teaching is not about force-feeding information into soon-to-be-active ‘economic receptacles’, but rather about curating character, shaping a world view, forming a mind, opening up the world, stimulating curiosity.
…a society that sees the economy as an end rather than a means to an end - human flourishing - will never value the intangible work of shaping personality, character and community.
…teachers do important work on behalf of the rest of us.”
I can vividly remember certain teachers from my school days; adults who shaped my world view, nurtured my development, encouraged my interests and built my self-confidence to try new things.
I was very fortunate to meet great teachers at different points in my (state) education, and I am certain that without them I would not have had the life experiences and opportunities that I’ve been given. Mr Harris, the junior school teacher who nurtured my love of reading. Mr Torrance, the cello teacher who helped my early love of playing music. Mr Harris (the second one!), my secondary school maths teacher who never gave up on me despite my very obvious utter lack of natural ability in his subject! My A level teachers, who encouraged me to believe that I could make it to university (this was quite a leap for the grand-daughter of north-eastern coal miners), and then my university lecturers who really opened up the world for me, engendering my love of modern foreign languages as a way of building human connections and literature as a source of joy, support and mental challenge.
Thanks to these teachers, and many others, I remain a lover of learning; curious, interested and passionate about giving children the best possible opportunities to build happy, successful lives.
We need great teachers. Without them, we are sunk. I truly believe it is as simple as that.
Ashley Stapledon, Operations Coordinator, Learning Partners
