On a visit to Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami Florida, I met a nurse. In one of our many conversations, she announced that she was a formerly trained schoolteacher who had taught for several years. A colleague from St. Kitts-Nevis also reminded me that many of her current and past staff were teachers. This included the only woman in the government team, Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Educational Planner and Director of Education.

As a teacher, these experiences ‘shocked me to the core’ because they went against a deeply held belief that teaching is not a springboard or stepping stone to another career. However, while reflecting on my long-held idealistic notion, I came to the conclusion that the action of the ‘teacher-turned-nurse’ and the other featured above, may have ‘come of age’ and are encouraged by the nature of the professional trends of the 21st century and the nature of teacher education and training.

The nature of 21^street-professional trends of the century

What are the trends in 21st century racing? First, it is an understood fact that a large number of people do not work in the field in which they have their degree. Second, even if one is lucky enough to be employed in the area indicated in their title, the average adult will change jobs several times throughout their career. The reasons to do so are many. However, given these current professional realities, it seems unreasonable to insist that teachers in general, and especially those who are out of date, bitter and disenchanted, just teach because they are qualified teachers. As we see, limiting yourself to a single job over a lifetime is no longer the norm in 21st century careers, but rather the exception.

The nature of teacher education and training

The nature of the education and training that teachers receive and, in particular, the skills and content knowledge that they develop during training are transferable to other jobs. This also helps foster the idea that maybe it’s time to promote teaching as a springboard to other careers. For example, teachers during training develop technical, arithmetic, communication and social skills that are highly desirable in most organizations. The skills and knowledge developed make teachers suitable for jobs such as:

entry level managers

corporate trainers

· Personal sales

human resources staff

· Project Coordinators

event manager

Entry level software developer

Social workers

administrative positions

real estate agent

Insurance agent

business services

Marketing

This is not an exhaustive list, but it helps support the point I’m making.

I must point out to those who might quibble with reason number two for promoting teaching as a stepping stone or stepping stone to other careers, that this should not be read as an indictment against teacher education and training, but rather as an endorsement of its dynamic nature. .