So, why are you a Science teacher?

Getting Emotional
    The time for exam results will soon be upon us.  It’s always an occasion for me to reflect on my life and ask the question we all have to ask from time to time: what am I doing and why am I doing it?        Earlier this week I had coffee with two former students.  It was a bittersweet experience (and a bittersweet coffee) to see two people I’m very proud of, and who I miss dearly, making their way in the world.  There was a time when I’d talk to them every day but now they’ve utterly outgrown my classroom.  It’s a wonderful feeling but also a sad one, which I suspect many teachers are familiar with.  They've flown the nest and moved out of my sphere of influence.  Also, I spilt coffee over my trousers.   
    So I’m feeling all wistful.  Time to write a heartfelt blog about why I became a Science teacher.  We’ll begin with a thoughtful, soul-defining image and caption.

Psyche! It's Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street.

Me as a Teenager  
    Anyone who’s known me since I was a teenager knows I’ve always loved Science.  Actually, that’s not technically true.  I’m pretty sure the day of my year 12 Chemistry coursework, after screwing up my results and spilling concentrated Lithium Hydroxide all over my fingers I may have uttered the words “I b****y hate Chemistry!” to my best friend, but barring that one morning, I’ve always loved it.
    There is a question which I think is worth answering though.  Why am I a Science teacher rather than a Scientist?  To be clear, I do consider myself a Scientist because a Scientist (to me at least) is someone who tries to think Scientifically.  But I don’t make my living from doing Scientific research, I make a living by standing in front of people who don’t want to be there and telling them about Science.  Why do I do this strange thing?
     The head-teacher of our school was once sitting beside me at the year 11 prom and asked me this very pertinent question.  “So, tim, it’s clear you love Science, but why did you become a teacher rather than a researcher?”  At the time I gave him the stock response I always give, which I’ll get to later, but I thought I’d take some self-indulgent time to explain (for those who are curious) what motivates someone to do this job.

Teaching Myth 1: Long Holidays and a Short Working Day
    Something I hear a lot is that teachers must be lazy because we don’t do a 9 – 5 shift.  Obviously teachers work 9 – 3:10 and spend their holidays lounging around, being fed grapes by servants.  And the holidays are enormous.  We get two weeks at Easter, two at Christmas, three half-term breaks and a six-week Summer, which I'm currently enjoying.  That’s 13 weeks of holiday while the average non-teaching job offers 5.6 (28 days to be precise).  It certainly does look like teachers get an easy ride.  Except there’s a few details worth considering.
    According to the Department for Education’s most recent survey (2014) the average secondary school teacher works 55.7 hours per week.  If those were the official contract hours it would actually be illegal because an employer is not permitted to demand over 48 hours per week from their employees.
    According to the Trades Union Congress, the average person in the UK works a 43.6 hour week, so if we multiply that by the number of weeks the average person in the UK works (46.4 weeks) we learn that a non-teacher in the UK typically works 2,023 hours in a year.  By contrast, the average teacher who works 55.7 hours a week for 39 weeks ends up working 2,172.
    The average teacher works 149 more hours per year than a non-teacher.  That’s roughly 21 extra working days.  I’m not claiming teachers work harder than non-teachers though.  We probably don’t.  But while non-teachers are running a year-long marathon of gradual grind, teachers are running sprints for a month, then taking a rest.  During term time I work insanely hard and then put my brain in a vat of ice every half-term break. 
     Teaching suits a very particular personality type.  The “give it everything you’ve got and then crash” personality.  I couldn’t sustain the level of energy required to be a teacher for 46 weeks straight.  But I can definitely keep it going for a couple of months, provided I have a week off every now and then.
     I’m also not trying to argue that teachers have it tougher than other people.  I’m just trying to remind everyone that although teaching may look like a nice relaxing job, it sure as shoot isn’t. 
Teachers aren’t doing their job because it’s easy.  They do 13 months’ worth of work in 10, so complain all you want about us getting long holidays.  We earn them.  Booyah!

Meet my friend Mr Drop. His first name is Mike.

Teaching Myth 2: Those who can – do.  Those who can’t – teach.
    The idea is that people who can do something skilfully will actually do that thing.  If they fail, they become a teacher because they’re not quite good enough to make a living from it. 
    I’ll admit it’s probably true for some teachers.  Like any job, teaching has some people who aren’t  there by choice and there are some people who teach their subject because “what else were they going to do with their degree?”
     But, for the most part (I’d like to believe) teachers are in the job because they can do, and they want to teach others how.  I mean, the implication of “can’t do, therefore teach” is that anyone who has a skill immediately wants to keep it to themselves and hoard their knowledge so nobody else can do it.  Clearly, that’s nonsense.  The very fact we’re no longer living in damp caves scrounging in the dirt for scraps of dead squirrel-meat is because people are willing to share what they’ve learned and pass their skills on. 
     And, for the record, we can do Science pretty well, thank you very much.  Within my school’s Science department we have loads of teachers who graduated with 1st Class degrees from Russell Group Universities.  Many of us have PhDs and Masters qualifications and some even have special awards for Science. 
    We have people who self-taught their entire degree, people who earned the highest A-level scores in the country, Oxbridge graduates, former high-earning engineers who took enormous pay cuts to do the job and so on.  Many other schools can boast similar credentials, I’m sure.
    And it’s not just in Science.  One of the teachers of business at my school is an honest-to-God millionaire who made his money through excellent entrepreneurship.  And he teaches.  He doesn’t need the money, he does it because he wants to pass on his knowledge.  A lot of teachers are actually pretty skilled people who could be doing other things. 
    And, for the record, when I finished my master’s degree (during which I invented my own equation and theorem) I was offered research positions with several groups and was head-hunted to work in computational quantum mechanics.  I was also awarded a significant financial bursary by my University to pay some of my student fees because they wanted me to remain there.  I’m not boasting by the way, I’m making a point.  Actually, I am boasting, but I worked hard during my degree and did really well, I get to boast about that. 
    The point is: teaching was not a last resort for me, but something I actively pursued.  I had plenty of options and the same is true for many other people in my profession.  They are teachers because it’s what they want to do.  I can do, and I teach.  I should get a bumper sticker with that on.  If I owned a car.  I don’t though.  Maybe I’ll just get it stencilled on my trousers.

Einstein worked as a teacher...anyone want to claim he couldn't do Physics?

Shut up Niels!

Teaching Myth 3: Teachers Earn Loads
     We don’t.
 
Teaching Myth 4: Yeah but you earn a decent amount.
     Alright, I think teachers get paid reasonably-ish.  The office for National Statistics April 2014 ASHE estimated that the median income for a full-time employee in the UK was 27K per year.  Newly qualified teachers earn 21K and teachers who’ve been at it longer (if they’re lucky – we’ll get to that in a moment) max out at 31K.  So actually, a teacher’s salary is pretty typical for a UK employee.  Not too bad, not too mind-blowing.
     The only frustration over teachers’ pay comes from seeing what our equally qualified friends wind up earning.  Like I said above, a lot of teachers have excellent A-level and degree results, so we’re highly employable.  With our grades we could be doing something far better paid and that's the source of annoyance. 
    It’s true that in my friendship group from school I wound up earning the least out of all of us.  I’m not walking around with a ball of seething jealousy in my stomach though.  Obviously not, they’re my friends and I’m happy for them.  But I’m a human being and sometimes I’ll see things they can afford, holidays they can go on etc. etc. and I’ll wave my fist at the money gods because I’m just as qualified and work just as hard...and they earn way more.  But hey, I chose to become a teacher.
    Now, remember when I said teachers would go up the pay scale if they were lucky?  Well here’s how it works: the teacher’s pay scale isn’t automatic like many other public-sector jobs.  At the end of each year we can apply to go up a level (until we reach the top rung), and the decision is largely based on how our students have done in exams. 
    The assumption by the powers-that-be is that teachers will want to start teaching kids better if there’s a money incentive.  I’m personally insulted by that because it implies I’m not really bothered how my kids are doing and I need motivation.  Believe it or not, most teachers want their students to do well for the students’ sake and incentivising us with money doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to how well we try and teach. 
    I try to teach to the best of my ability because I want to give the kids in front of me a good education.  Perhaps the people who made this decision are motivated by money and therefore assume everyone else is, and perhaps it’s hard for them to imagine what it must be like to love your job, but for a lot of teachers the reason we’re teachers isn’t to do with money, otherwise we would have taken that other high-paying job we’re qualified for.
    The fact I get paid is obviously important (after all, I need money to access the whole food and shelter thing), and I obviously wouldn’t turn down lots of money if offered.  But I’m not a teacher because I have to pay the bills.  I’m a teacher because I want to be a teacher. 
    Offering me a sliver of extra cash won’t actually change how well I teach.  Sorry, but it won’t.  I will keep teaching as well as I can, same as I always have, and I’m doing it for the kids, not my wallet.  There are no teachers out there going: “wow, I’d better start caring whether my students pass, I can make some serious knicker if they do!” 

Obviously, in my head, everyone sounds like Jason Statham

    The other problem with this payscale scheme is that it assumes better teaching = better grades.  Well, just imagine you’re a head of department and you’ve got a fantastic teacher in your team and one who really can’t be bothered.  Suppose you’ve also got a brilliant class full of motivated students who are going to do well regardless, and another class of grumpazoid chimp-hybrids who would rather be whipping each other with bike chains than learning Science. 
    You pair the talented teacher with the tougher class, right?  And then the lazy teacher gets the good class who are going to do well anyway.  Whose results look better and who goes up the payscale?
    Money’s not everything but it is important and teachers get a sort-of satisfactory amount.  I’d like us to get more, but I recognise there’s lots of people with lots of jobs and we can’t all get as much as we’d like. 

Although, if there's one thing I've learned about Science teachers who don't get paid enough...

   
    Thing is, I’m not a teacher because it’s an easy job and I’m not a teacher because I couldn’t think of anything else to do.  I’m not in it for the money and I’m certainly not in it for control or power (if you like having control and power, you would very quickly find teaching is not the job for you, because you basically don’t have any).  I’m a Science teacher for loads of other reasons.  Here are the main ones.
 

Reason 1: I’m in it for the species
    I was once talking to someone I knew about the importance of getting people interested in Science.  I really do believe it’s of vital importance that as many people as possible be Scientifically literate.  Science has brought us out of the caves, given us modern medicine, technology, global communication and helps us look at the vast expanse of space to find our own significance.  Science is one of the key driving forces (if not the driving force) of the human race’s astonishing progress.    
    The more people who care how we relate to our Universe, the more people start to see the bigger pictures.  I want to make sure our next generation has people who can think scientifically so they can navigate us through the problems we’re going to be dealt.
    I am a Science teacher because I have admiration for the human endeavour and I want us to thrive because I truly think we could be worthy of it.  Yes we’re flawed and yes we stumble, but look at what we have done in such a short space of time.  Science is the key to our survival and I want to play a part in that effort.
    After I’d said all this, the person I was speaking to said “tim, you can’t save the world.”  I agree, I can’t.  But there’s no harm in trying.
 
Reason 2: I like the people I teach
    Teenagers get a bad rep.  Yeah, fine, teenagers make mistakes and say stupid stuff, but have you ever looked around and noticed how dumb some of the stuff adults say is?  I think there’s all sorts of reasons teenagers get criticised (I won’t get into it right now) but for what it’s worth I really value the insights and opinions of the students I teach.
    Teenagers aren’t stupid, they aren’t sulky and they aren’t overly emotional, at least no more than adults are.  Next time a teenager says something which bugs you, and your knee jerk response is to go “damn teenagers!” or “young people today”, take a moment to actually think about what it is they’ve said that annoys or angers you.  And then think: do adults do those things as well?
    Sometimes I’ll be teaching a student and they’ll get on my nerves (surprise, surprise, teachers don’t have infinite patience and love in their hearts for everything kids do).  Things like arrogance, apathy, being unnecessarily confrontational etc. etc.  But it would also get on my nerves if an adult did it.  In fact, I struggle to think of a behaviour I dislike which is exclusive to teenagers.
    Teenagers are human and, as it happens, often more open-minded, more carefree, more humorous, more optimistic, more ambitious, more willing to change their minds and more willing to learn than a lot of adults I meet.
    Also, Biologically speaking, teenagers’ body clocks aren’t wired the same as those of an adult.  A teenager’s circadian rhythm (the thing which determines sleep cycle) lags behind daylight significantly.  Teenagers start to wake up about 10-11 O’clock and they don’t get sleepy until very late at night.  So actually, a lot of the reason teenagers might seem sulky or moody or grumpy is painfully simple: they’re tired.  If we based the school day on Biology it would start and finish a lot later (but does anyone listen to me???)

Looks like a bunch of trouble-making youths? Yeah? Well, the middle guy was in Star Wars! How d'you like them apples?

Reason 3: Science can make people happy
    Science is one of the most exciting and optimistic things you can study becuase the world is beautiful.  It’s astonishing, weird, incredible, and full of unending mystery.  Nature is elegant and Science is exquisite. 
    We didn’t exist for 13.8 billion years of time and we won’t exist for countless trillions after we die.  We are privy to the grand spectacle for 70 or so years and it's a waste of that time if we don't try to appreciate all this majesty and complexity.  How lucky we are to be given such an opportunity. 
    I'm a Science teacher because when I look at the world around me, I’m filled with joy and hope.  I want to share that with others.     
 
Reason 4: I like Teaching people stuff
    Seems like an obvious one but it’s hard to pin down what this feeling is exactly.  I think every teacher knows the feeling they get when a kid suddenly goes “oh! I get it now!” and you’ve helped them see something they couldn’t before.  I can’t really explain or analyse it any deeper than that, but there’s something wonderful about helping someone else grasp something.  It doesn’t happen every lesson of every day with every student.  But when it does happen it’s something really special.
   
Reason 5: I want to make a difference
     As I said earlier, teachers don’t get paid a whopping amount in terms of money.  But we are paid in the kinds of memories few other jobs have.  As a teacher we have such potential to influence the lives of people for the better.  To quote Socrates (one of the first great teachers) “the direction in which education sets a man will determine his future happiness”.  Teachers have the ability to help shape a person and knowing I’ve made a difference to someone’s life is something I never want to give up.
    When I did my GCSE exams, I began holding Science revision sessions at my house for my friends.  They’d come along and I’d crash-course them through the GCSE.  After the exam, several of them came up and thanked me, saying they wouldn’t have passed without my help.  And wham, it hit me that this was something I wanted to do with my life.
    The reason I’m a teacher, the real reason, the deep reason, is because it gives me the chance to make a difference.  Sometimes it’s a small one; nothing more than making a pupil laugh when they’re in a bad mood, sometimes it’s a big thing, helping students pass their exams or choose a career path.
     I remember the teacher who began it for me.  My year 10/11 Chemistry teacher, Mr. Evans.  We’ve all got a teacher like that in our past, I suspect.  The one who pushed a button in our brain we didn’t even know was there, who showed us what we were capable of.
    By incredible providence, Mr. Evans was followed for me by another inspiring teacher, Mr. Miller.  He’s the person who persuaded me to consider teaching as a career.  I had reservations about it for a long time, but Mr. Miller was the one who pushed me into it and the thing is, he probably didn’t even realise he was doing it. 
    And then at University, my research supervisor was the person who trained me to think like a Scientist and stretched my brain further than I thought it could reach.  I didn't really know what my intellectual limits were until he took me to them.
    The point is, these three guys will be with me for the rest of my life.  The impact they had on me is profound and can’t be understated.  I’m a very happy person who loves what he does and I’m so grateful I was put on this path.  That’s why I’m a teacher, because I want to make a difference to other people, the way they made a difference to me.
    The reason I’m a teacher is in the thank-you cards I get at the end of the year.  It’s in students shouting my name as I walk past them in town.  It’s in the hand-shakes I give pupils after they’ve finished their exams.  It’s in the times my students make me laugh so hard I can barely breathe and in the tear-filled goodbyes I say to beloved classes.  It’s in knowing I’ve had an impact, even a small one, on someone else’s life. 
 
And finally the stock reason
     When people ask why I’m a Science teacher it’s usually in the middle of conversation and they want a quick response.  So I have an answer ready.  It’s just as true as the other reasons.  And, like almost all the best quotations about Science, it comes from Carl Sagan.  On this occasion, the opening chapter of his magnificent book The Demon Haunted World.  Sagan, when asked why he was so passionate about teaching Science, said:
     “When you’re in love, you want to tell the world.”
 
I do what I do because of love.
I love Science.
I love being a teacher.


Image credits:
Playground: dailygenius
Bert&Ernie: wetpaint
Neil Degrasse Tyson: techinsider
Einstein: autodidactproject
Niels Bohr: tumblr
Jason Statham: tumblr
Walter White: momentumbooks
Hoodies: Mirror