Teachers’ day is a day celebrated in honour of all the hard working and dedicated educators who build the necessary foundation for our futures. It is a special day where we celebrate and express our gratitude to the hardworking individuals who take the responsibility in assisting us throughout our hardships, struggles, and wellbeing. These resilient, caring individuals are the reason we learn new things everyday.
Teachers. In Tenby, there are hundreds of qualified educators who guide us through every path in our school journey and in life.
This being said, I decided to delve deeper into what it means to be a teacher so I interviewed our incredible pastoral leader and English teacher, Ms. Toms.
How long have you been teaching?
I have been teaching for about 12 years in total. I have been in Malaysia for 2 years now and I began training as a teacher when I was 42 - it is my second career!
Do you enjoy teaching?
I absolutely adore teaching, I cannot tell you how amazing it is. It is incredibly hard work, incredibly stressful and very tiring. However, it is never dull. I love being with young people as I find them interesting, challenging, and I learn so much from being around them. I enjoy the moments when minds spark and you can see a student achieving new learning and them having a breakthrough. I also enjoy the pastoral side of things where I get to look after the students’ wellbeing.
Would it be fair to assume that you want to bring up the future leaders of our generation?
I don’t think about the next step in terms of their career, I plan to instil the love of learning into young people, giving them the opportunity to continue learning and growing while also maintaining a good mental health, as it is about being happy in life. However with solid education, it makes being happy so much easier.
What inspired you to teach? Well it is my second career, and I have 2 young children in the UK. During my time there, we had this system called “governorship” and I was there learning how to develop a school. While I was working there as a volunteer, I felt deeply inspired by the other teachers' work and seeing the impact they had on younger people. I also felt like having 2 young children pivoted me into this direction as it gave me the opportunity to help make a difference in everybody’s children's lives If you could change your occupation or essentially go down a different career road would you take it? I have tried it once as my previous career path was business and I did enjoy it as it was not only challenging but there was also a lot of travel involved. However working in an office doesn’t have the variety and interest that working as a teacher in a classroom has. Although, if I were to choose a different career path, I would become an actress because I am a brilliant actress.
What inspired you to come to Malaysia and begin a teaching career?
I have a friend living in Malaysia and both of my children are grown up so this was a great opportunity for me to travel. As most of you might know, teaching in the UK is different compared to Malaysia as you have to deal with a lot of behavioural issues - most of the lessons would be attempting to control the class rather than teaching it. So coming to Malaysia, I knew that it would be about teaching which gave me the opportunity to instil the love of learning into kids without having to waste time telling them off. AND IT IS A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY OF COURSE!
Were you ever a principal or head of year throughout your teaching career? Yes, I have been the head of year a few times. But back home in the UK I was a lead practitioner. Lead practitioners were basically experts in teaching. I loved the pastoral side of things and taking care of the wellbeing of students. I also did a great deal of reading on how teaching works. I then proceeded to help guide and prepare other teachers, supporting them to develop their practice. It was very knowledge dependent as you were developing new teachers and becoming a new teacher is very challenging.
Were you always planning to be an English teacher?
No, it never occurred to me that I’d become an English teacher - even after I got my English degree. It didn't even occur to me after I hit my late 30’s that I wanted to teach. Personally, I love English, but I love teaching more. My subject is important to me, but the idea of getting students excited, enthusiastic and communicative is exciting to me. I still am passionate about reading and writing but it is mainly about teaching for me.
If you had all the money in the world, what would you do with it? Now I have to be altruistic (selfless) with my decision. At the moment, I would go to Afghanistan and open hundreds of schools for young girls. It saddens me to see millions of young girls being denied the basic right to an education, so I would open hundreds of schools for young girls in Afghanistan and teach in all of them!
What is your overall goal creating the now rising feminist club in Tenby?
For me, it is about education and getting everybody to understand that women have been oppressed, suppressed and denied equal rights for centuries. I want all of us to step back and think about how we treat women, how we comment on their clothes, any time we are limiting a girl's opportunity and anytime we assume what they can and cannot do. I am sorry to admit that as a woman, I feel like Malaysia has ways to go to ensure that the women here have equal opportunities and rights.
Do you plan to further promote the “Break The Bias” movement to other schools?
I haven’t thought about that but perhaps I could build my empire!
In the future, do you ever plan to be a principal in the future?
Not really. Principals don’t teach a lot and my happy place is in the classroom. I am getting older now, however I don’t plan on sitting down at a desk all day sorting out administration, parental complaints, and so on. My happy place is in the classroom where all the learning takes place and I am able to leave a positive impact on the students. I am not saying principals don’t leave a positive impact on the lives of students - of course they do. I just personally prefer to teach in the classroom.
Where do you see yourself 10-15 years down the road? Retired and happily travelling around the world. That is where I will be in 10-15 years. Do you think students should read more?
What do you think? Of course they should! I think students should read anything and everything, I don’t care what students enjoy - whether it be fiction or nonfiction, a football match report, a maths report, news report or anything! Reading is the best way to explore your values and learn new things, so get off your phones and start reading!
I do agree with your statement that reading is important, however most parents would discourage reading online or downloading ebooks, how do you respond to this?
You can’t really argue with the parents' decisions. It is the reality and the way of the world now - young people read on screens. Whatever you do, just keep reading.
What is your favourite book?
My favourite book would be “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brönte. It is a dark gothic novel featuring the main character Heathcliff, a violent character with very gruesome descriptions of dark settings, confinement and being trapped in an abyss. It has a wonderful female heroine named Catherine. Maybe that’s why I really enjoy it. I am really into dark, atmospheric and spooky books.
I would like to thank Ms Toms for her time. Through this interview, I have learnt about how it feels to be a teacher and also someone who inspires many to take a stand and not be afraid to promote their beliefs. On behalf of the W@T team and the Tenby community, I would like to thank every single teacher for inspiring us and guiding us to be better students and human beings. From the bottom of our hearts, Happy Teachers’ Day.
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