Chapter 24 – my early years
I went into teaching through ennui.
I had experienced a wondrous three years as a student during the late sixties. It was my hedonistic years of Rock ‘n’ Roll in London. Three gigs each week, a wild social life, loads of reading and being madly in love, was the backdrop to having to go to a few lectures here and there. I shared a room in the East End with a mad genius and we had fun and put the world to rights.
After that it was all downhill. I had to get a job. I worked at my old college as a lab tech doing a part-time M.Phil.
I figured that when I had reached the end of my tether I had another year of freedom up my sleeve; I could go back to college for a year and do a post graduate certificate of education – PGCE.
That came after three years. I had a big row with my supervisor who wanted me to do another year before submitting my Master’s degree. I told him to stick it, in slightly stronger words, and walked out.
Hull University accepted me on to their course and I found my year in mid seventies Hull far removed from my three years in sixties London. Ho hum.
At the end of the year I drifted into applying for teaching posts. I was offered the first one I applied to. It was at Beverley Grammar School. In some ways it was considered the best job on offer and my tutor, with whom I had major confrontations over his hypocritical teaching methods, was amazed. Unbeknown to him there were things he did not know. BGS had been forced to change to a comprehensive school and it was struggling. They had realised they needed young comprehensive teachers. I was it.
What my fellow students could not understand was why I had accepted the job in the first place. The school seemed the opposite of what all my ideals stood for. It was.
I liked it because it was a challenge. I knew exactly where I stood.
I was reminded of the car stickers I had seen in America. There were two types: America- love it or leave it!! Or America – love it or change it!!
I knew which side I was on.