Topical Teaching

It’s interesting how teachers often complain as if their problems and challenges are completely unique.

Some point out that they take their work home unlike many other professions.

Others talk about the low wages and hostile work environment.

Many talk about the troubles they have from bullying parents.

In truth, there are a myriad of different professions that struggle with similar problems to that of a teacher. They may not be similar occupations on the surface, but they can have almost identical constraints.

I recently had the pleasure of reading Vadim Chelom’s brilliant new book, Vet Bites Dog. Vadim is a veterinarian and fellow blogger who has a keen interest in educational affairs. He used his expertise to design a program for teachers to help instruct children about dog safety practices. In Vet Bites Dog, a book about his experiences working at a not-for-profit animal clinic, Chelom writes the following:

I take another deep breath. 8PM is just around the corner. People often say that being a veterinarian must be hard because our patients can’t talk to us. The truth is, it’s not our patients which make our work a challenge. More often than not it’s the animal on the other end of the lead. Learning to treat pets is easy. Learning to ‘treat’ their owners is what takes years of practice, boundless patience and expert negotiation skills.

Sounds familiar to the plight of a teacher?

I think it’s important to realise that teaching has it’s unique issues and challenges, but essentially all job with deadlines, paperwork, bosses, expectations and key performance indicators are distinctly similar in many ways.

I urge you to grab a copy of Dr. Chelom’s book. It’s hilarious, revealing and brilliantly written. You may, like me, realise you have much more in common with a vet than had previously thought.

Tags: Animal Shelters, Animals, Auto Biography, Biography, Books, Brilliant books, Bullying in the workplace, Bullying parents, Careers, Funny Book, Reading, Recommended reading, Teacher wages, Teachers pay, Vet Bites Dog, Veterinarian, Vets, Writers

This entry was posted on September 5, 2012 at 11:51 pm and is filed under Teachers Stress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.