‘I better give you advice on what it takes to be a teacher’
Dear B_____,Well, you decided to go into teacher training. I guess this means I’m your favourite parent – after all, I inspired you to become an English teacher like me. Looking back to when you and your younger sister played teacher, I think I better give you some advice, or at least let you in on some secrets, on what it really takes to be a secondary schoolteacher. You have to know and love your subject. This is a basic requirement. How can you teach something that you don’t love? With this comes the understanding that you are an expert in that subject. Don’t forget that you have a degree in English. Read widely. Reading books, watching films, going to plays, is now considered “work”, so don’t listen to anyone who says you don’t work during your time off. Pedagogy, how you teach, and classroom management happen at the same…