Name: Carrie Muir
Subject: Technological Education
Location: St Brides High School, East Kilbride
Teaching Experience: two years

Teaching was a profession I had considered for a number of years, but always found a reason not to do it. When redundancy became reality from my engineering job, I decided to take the plunge into education.

There are many reasons I entered the teaching profession, both personal and practical. I viewed it as stable career with good prospects, but mainly it was something in which I could succeed.

 

I am now in my second year of secondary teaching and enjoying (nearly) every minute of it. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I do doubt my decision, but then you get one pupil who will thank you or understand something they didn’t before, then it all becomes worthwhile.

 

One thing that I didn't realise about teaching is that it is about much more than going into a classroom and teaching your lesson, it is about getting yourself involved within the school as a whole.

As a probationer teacher I became involved with a variety of initiatives, ranging from promoting positive behaviour to mentoring senior pupils. Not only did these activities allow me to get to know staff and pupils, but it also helped me to improve my classroom teaching.

 

Moving from engineering would appear to be a big change but many of the skills I used as an engineer are similar to the ones I require as a teacher. Communication, organisation and time management are all skills I believe are essential to becoming an effective teacher. But, most importantly, you have to be able to relate to young people.

 

Children do not want someone to talk down to them or patronise them, they want someone they can talk to and who will listen to what they have to say.

 

And now as I move forward in my new career, I am optimistic that I will continue to enjoy each new challenge and continue to develop my effectiveness as a teacher.