Ethan Osborn-Clarke is a final year Geography BSc student planning to teach Geography in secondary schools in London once he graduates, following the Teach First pathway. Other options for getting into teaching exist too – see links further down for details. We caught up with Ethan to discuss why he’s choosing this career path.
Teaching is a popular career choice for many graduates, for various reasons: job satisfaction, security, or to inspire the next generation.
There are many reasons I‘m going into teaching – all confirmed by my primary and secondary observation days and too numerous to go through individually. To try and summarise, I’ve put them into four main areas: fulfilment, differentiation, progression and challenge, giving a glimpse into my rationale for going into teaching.
Fulfilment
Many teachers attribute fulfilment as the highlight of their job. Whether that be results day, the ‘lightbulb’ moment of realisation in students when an idea clicks, or seeing students develop into future leaders.
Although tough, many teachers say this sense of fulfilment is what they teach for. The feelings of accomplishment and fulfilment are increasingly becoming a part of career planning. From the two in-school placements I have had, it is clear that there are countless opportunities for this to happen in teaching.
Differentiation
Every day is different, with your timetable giving you different classes, students and teaching content each day. To my mind, It would be impossible to find the week-to-week experience of teaching monotonous. This was repeated to me during my secondary school placement.
Progression
This is so important to me. Opportunities to grow, acquiring new skills and responsibilities. Teaching has an array of curriculum and pastoral opportunities. Head of Year or Faculty, Senior Leadership, Headship and so on. You can also teach other subjects with the right qualifications – for example, I’m planning to reacquaint myself with Psychology and Sociology.
Challenge
Teaching is tough. I will not deny that. However, if you love a challenge, like I do, teaching may be for you. Being “chucked in the deep end” is where I learn best. That’s why I’m going the Teach First route following graduation next year; completing a PGCE is another route in. Alas, I will end my teaching pitch here. There are many other reasons to go into teaching, but hopefully I have provided a brief insight. London schools, I’ll see you soon!
Interested? Find out more
- Read our handy guide on the different routes into teaching.
- Check out the sector guide to Teaching in Schools, and others on working in different parts of education, for a more detailed overview.
- It’s recommended that you get some observation experience in one or more schools before committing to a teacher training course – you can contact schools to arrange. You can also gain relevant experience by searching myopportunities for tutoring or student support roles.
Blog written by Ethan Osborn-Clark, a final year BSc Geography student and Career Peer Support Assistant.