“I want to become a teacher because I want to change someone’s life.”
“I want to make a difference.”
“I want to change the world.”
Yes, I was rather naive when I made such statements at 15 and considering leaving the world of theatre to train to become a teacher. By that time, I was a community activist campaigning for increased involvement in social justice initiatives at home and overseas while enrolled in a professional training course for musical theatre. My peers were absolutely dedicated to their craft; after school and rehearsals, they would carry on with their dance training at local, private institutions, audition for youth roles in professional theatre companies, and had weekend jobs as prop masters.
While I loved my training, my heart was somewhere else. I couldn’t get enough of school, and took additional classes at local colleges and universities in my spare time to learn more. I spent my weekends at protests, both in my hometown and traveling down to Washington, D.C., taking schoolwork with me and trying to engage the apathetic along the way.
Fast forward to today: I’m in my eighth year as a full-time teacher, with most of those being Head of Department. It is to easy as a teacher to become bogged down with marking and planning, meetings and parental contact. There are professional development opportunities and school trips alongside lonely days without much peer contact.
But I still define myself as an activist, only my activism primarily residents within the classroom. Sometimes this takes the shape of ensuring my range of LGBT+ Pride flags (collection currently stands at 6, with more to come!) are flying proudly in my room. Other times, it’s passing on relevant research to teachers about mental health and wellbeing in our profession. It’s making my opinion on human rights infractions known to the students, and allowing them an opportunity to develop their own voice on such issues.
This blog will be a collection of anecdotes and reviews about activism within the classroom and school community. I should warn that it will have a UK-focus, as that is where I am currently teaching, and within a secondary school.
[Illustration by Eric Hanson; image from http://rethinkingschools.aidcvt.com/archive/25_04/25_04_cover.shtml]
Get Up and Teach 