Teaching is not a job you can leave behind at the end of the day. Two teachers tell Veronica Stivala that their work is a passion and a vocation.

Teaching them to love learning

Francesca Cassar has been teaching for over nine years at San Anton School, a private co-ed school. A graduate in B.Ed. Early Years, she teaches grade one. She does not teach specific subjects but is guided by the children’s interest and plans lessons with them. She also follows the National Minimum Curriculum as her guideline.

Francesca Cassar

Cassar attributes her love for teaching to her own school days. Her days at St Dorothy’s Junior school were memorable and gave her the opportunity to meet teachers who truly loved teaching and their students.

“My main role model was my aunt, Sister Celia Agius-Vadala, who at the time was also my headmistress,” she says. “As young children we were valued and shown that we were loved. I also used to play at teacher with my younger cousins. Teaching seemed to be a very natural and obvious choice for me.”

Cassar is passionate about teaching and invests a lot of time and energy in it.

“I find myself looking at something and thinking how I can use it in my classroom. Sometimes, when eating out, I even ask for the shells from my dish so I can use them for class projects,” she says. Anyone who has worked with young children knows that teaching requires a strong character. Cassar truly believes that teaching is a vocation with no predictable outcome.

“My work does not finish once I leave school as planning with the children’s interest in mind is ongoing and therefore preparation for the next day in mandatory.”

Cassar likes to research to improve her work and understand the children in her class.

“I find myself working on weekends and worrying about children in my care. Teaching is not really a job you can leave behind at the end of the day. To be an effective teacher takes dedication and vocation,” she says.

Seeing the children’s progress at the end of the year is this teacher’s biggest satisfaction. Children come into class feeling shy and insecure and as the year progresses they develop into confident children taking the plunge to try new things.

Unsurprisingly, Cassar finds that being a teacher is a very big responsibility.

“I teach children at an age where they are most vulnerable and my influence on them can either make or break them,” she says.

She refers to a little memento given to her by one of her students that reads “Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning”. This hangs over her desk at home and reminds her that she needs to be constantly innovative and on the ball to ensure she transfers her love of learning to her students.

Every teacher has their own way of helping children learn different skills. Cassar believes that children learn by doing and likes to allow them to use all their senses, dig in and get messy in order to explore and engage in their learning journey.

Being of service to others

James Schembri has been teaching in state schools for the past four years, since he graduated. He teaches physics and integrated science at St Thomas More College, St Lucia, Girls’ Secondary School.

James Schembri

Schembri admits that when he started sixth form he was not sure which career to pursue.

“I was at a crossroads between studying to become an engineer or an architect,” he says. However, during those two years, he had the opportunity to do some voluntary work with children twice a week.

“That experience helped me to discover the beauty of touching people’s lives by making the best use of my talents and so I decided that I wanted to become a teacher. It was not about which subject I was going to teach but rather how I could be of service toothers,” he says.

Schembri explains how being a teacher requires dedication, especially because doing things well takes time. You need time to do proper research, for creative and up-to-date preparation, to correct children’s work, to listen to the difficulties of the students and also to absorb what has happened during the day. Rather than using the word ‘vocation’, Schembri prefers to describe his choice of profession as a ‘decision’.

“Becoming a teacher is a choice, not a one-time call. It must be taken care of, nourished and affirmed every day,” he says.

It’s very frustrating when you can see a child’s potential but they cannot

For Schembri, the most satisfying part about being a teacher is helping students to reach their full potential. On the other hand, the most difficult part is trying to help students who have given up.

“It’s very frustrating when you can see a child’s potential but they cannot.”

Schembri admits he is still at a very early stage of his life as a teacher but, if he were to be asked whether he would do it again, he would definitely say yes again.