The Ex Teacher's Diary

Leaving teaching was jumping into the abyss for me. I didn’t have a job to go to and I didn’t know where the next year would take me. So I’ve spent the last year reflecting and trying to find a new direction, which I am finding tricky but I will get there!

During the past year, I felt an alignment with comedians (without the necessary wit and humour). So why?

The thing that struck me about comedians is that most of them leave a stable job to pursue their ‘calling’ or maybe something a bit more invigorating than an office job. The media like to refer to teaching a ‘calling’. This is manipulation to keep people in a profession by suggesting it’s not about the money and therefore you should some how feel guilty if you want to leave. Perhaps we should be looking at how to retain teachers not how to make them feel trapped. I have lots of ideas about teacher retention and what drives people away from the profession but who do I tell? Anyway, that was a side note to the comedians – sorry!

So comedians – what do they know?

They know that sometimes you have to take the leap of faith. You have to ignore the doubters and you have go with your gut. I’ve decided to trust my gut instinct -it’s there for a reason. Often we ignore it because we ‘want’ something else. Maybe we should sit with that gut instinct a bit longer before making a decision. I think modern society makes us question ourselves, far too much noise to be able to think properly. And far too much opinion of other people. Why are people so interested in everyone else? My main advice to anyone is be more interested in you. This is your life. But, I have, of course, digressed again.

I began reading Bob Mortimer’s book ‘And Away…’. Mr Mortimer has the same humour as me. I could watch him for hours on ‘Would I Lie To You?’ especially when David Mitchell becomes agitated. So naturally I thought perhaps someone with a similar sense of humour might have some wise words to shed on my period of instability. He did but not for the reasons I thought. I was taken by his story and how to thrive in a new world, particularly that he had given up his law career to partner with Vic Reeves. It gave me a sense of peace to know that change can be glorious but not without determination and hard work.

Jimmy Carr was next on my book list. I don’t align with his comedy in the same way I do with Bob Mortimer but I have seen clips where he shares his thoughts on life. I aligned with these. Social media clips give snippets – that’s the point – but I needed to learn more about his thoughts. I listened to his book whilst cycling and driving, sometimes not listening as I pondered his thoughts. In essence Jimmy’s philosophy is ‘prioritise later’. I’m not sure what this means to me as I don’t fully know my new journey yet but this must be true of comedians too when they start out. What it does mean is stop being apathetic. What you do today affects your tomorrow. Be better today for you. This applies to every facet of life.

As I write this I realise what Bob and Jimmy taught me. To trust myself, have a little faith and put in the hard work. Afterall, if you look deeply enough you’ve got all the answers.