Those who can, teach. . .

Teachers no longer rank alongside lawyers and doctors on the professional ladder,(rightfully so perhaps) and in the UK at least, they have a bit of a reputation as moaning coffee drinkers who lacked the ambition to achieve distinction in their chosen field. Hmmmm. The most hurtful insults always have an element of truth in them. But that picture is at best, incomplete.
It was never my ambition to teach. I don't know about my dad,(a teacher for 30 years) but I sort of allowed myself to fall into it. Its a secure job and despite the fact that, at present the whole profession is groaning under the weight of impossible levels of accountability, it is potentially very rewarding.
I enjoy the performance part of the job and I take great pleasure in the spontaneous, all singing and dancing cabaret lessons in which I lose myself, like an actor, in a creative moment with the kids. We do give each other alot of pleasure: Today, I got carried away acting out a scenario in which I was being rescued from a burning building by one of the students. The student(as I played him) shouted "don't die Thomas, don't die!" as I gave over-dramatic CPR to a pile of exercise books.
Then there's the discipline, (starting to enjoy this now) using only the force of your personality and the threat of detention class, to control a crown of yunguns, takes skill my friends! I have had some nightmare learning experiences in UK as I cut my teeth in some of the toughest schools in Sheffield.
Then there's the monotony of marking and the administration of record keeping, calculation, statistics and target meeting and setting. Did you have to do all this dad?
Then there's audits and inspections from peers and government, then theres materials design, then theres the deadlines (some useful, some not)
Then theres the pressure from exams...especially here in HK, it is intense.
Then there's the fact that while parents, children, teachers, administrators, government on the face of it have the same goals at heart, they often disagree, or partly conflict as to how those goals can be achieved. All makes for a healthy dose of work related stress.

but. . .

I can't think of another job where, on your birthday you get three cakes and so many gifts, or true respect and deference from hundreds of teens. And then deep gratitude from ex students and the friendship that come from that. Teaching CAN be the best job in the world. Not many people come and visit the doctor that operated on them.