As a Principal I think we have a great responsibility to “talk up our profession “ whenever we have the opportunity and in particular to our own staff. Teachers often take an unfair battering in the press and if there is anything amiss socially then teachers are expected to sort it out - never mind parental responsibility. The 24-hour news cycle and social media make life so much harder for teachers. Consequently, it is easy for morale to drop amongst them.

I am always delighted to hear of a student wishing to become a teacher and given the opportunity and in my opinion their suitability, I’m always really keen to encourage them. The invented word “Telationship” relates to teaching and it is often good to introduce them to this unusual creation. The word really translates to - teaching is about relationship, a concept never to be forgotten. If a person can’t form a constructive relationship with students they will find teaching difficult. Sadly, some people wanting to be teachers are unable to form this connection even though they do everything conscientiously and correctly. Sometimes they can be moved to a teaching placement more suitable to them, sometimes not. In my experience, an unsuitable teacher has a miserable working life.

A story I wrote years ago, called the “Candle Maker,” was created to celebrate the important role teacher’s play. As a teacher, a person may not become financially wealthy but they sure can make a difference. It is worth reminding teachers that they may not always get positive feedback immediately and may never get it but need to believe they have made a difference. I received some from a student over the radio on World Teachers’ Day 40 years after I taught him! Certainly, teachers should be encouraged to have their radar well-tuned for positives, for they deserve them, but may never know when one drifts their way. Teachers should be encouraged to embrace the wonderful notion that everyday is the chance to make a memory both for them and the students.

Here is the story of the Candle Maker.

The old Candle Maker closed the door on his workshop and climbed slowly up to his bedroom. He went to the corner of his room and sat in his old rocking chair beside the window as he always did at dusk. He peered out at the fading light and the ever growing shadows that were being cast over the village which lay below his old stone house. Though the dark shadows lengthened, they failed to dominate the scene, for soon candle light began to flicker in many windows around the village. The Candle Maker smiled - he always felt a glow of satisfaction at this time of night as he wondered how many windows he was responsible for lighting. As he had a thriving business, he knew that it would be many. Finally, as the lights of the village reached capacity, he arose and lit his own candle, giving himself the warmth and comfort of light for the night.

A teacher’s major role is to light candles within young people, to encourage light to flicker in any way possible and to hope that this light will go on into the future, becoming larger, kindling other lights elsewhere. The lighting of a candle may not be easy for teachers working with groups of diverse individuals who on any day will vary in their personal circumstances, the amount of sleep they have had, the security of their relationships and so capacity and desire to learn. Some candles may be difficult to light and require support, persistence and understanding by the teacher, which is part of their valuable craft.

I think teachers need to be reassured that their craft is not learnt in five minutes but evolves over time. Teachers normally have to serve an apprenticeship to develop their skills - they simply won’t be learnt through study and training. Mind you, I believe the job of a principal is mostly learnt through experience, some of it rather tough. What is gratifying is that in both jobs, teachers and principals (who are indeed teachers) never stop learning. When everything seems to be known, and leaning back in the chair of self-satisfaction seems justified, some exciting challenge will arrive to bring the chair back to earth, sometimes with a thud!

In the end, it is most satisfying for teachers and principals to reflect, at various stages in their life, on the candles they may have lit and therefore what they have done to illuminate their section of the world. Meeting old students and listening to their stories of life, what they have done, who they have worked with, their families and aspirations for the future, is always exciting and is indeed a rich example of candle lighting - teachers having helped to light theirs they having learnt to light their own and then, carrying on this tradition by lighting others.

Chris Tudor

AISNT Historian & Principal Liaison