So what’s plan B? There’s a whole lot of teachers in their final year of preservice teacher education asking me that question these days. If budget cuts across provinces mean the loss of hundreds of thousand of teaching jobs, what do I do now?
Let me just say that I am truly sorry we are in this situation where budget cuts mean more to the national government than the quality and improvement of our failing school system. I will join any march to demand we refocus our priorities as a country and find the money in the fiscus to give education the teachers we need. But I am also a realist. What if the worst case scenario means losing those huge numbers of teachers anyway? Here’s what I recommend you do.
First, keep your options open. Find a job overseas. There are thousands of South Africans teaching in countries from Dubai to Vietnam earning valuable experience and lots of money. Don’t limit yourself to any geography. You are young. Explore the world and learn more about yourself by teaching in different social, cultural and political climes. I am a big proponent of the cross-cultural experience for all university graduates; it challenges you to become independent and it enriches your life to become more fully human. Read in preparation Karin Cronje’s delightful little book, There goes English teacher.
Understand that the teaching degree is not enough. Principals who appoint teachers on contract posts are also looking for other qualities besides the obvious one, experience.
Launch out, learn from others, then come back. Teaching positions go through cycles: then there is a demand for teachers overall or in particular subjects, then there is an oversupply of teachers later on. Budget cuts mean losing teachers, mass resignations or retirements ( such as after Covid) and suddenly there are positions available again. Keep your ears to the ground, have friends notify you about possible job opportunities that bring you home again.
Second, continue your studying if you have the financial means to delay income for a while. In other words, get an honours or master’s degree in education while you wait for posts to become available. In general, a teacher candidate with more and better qualifications is more competitive in the job market than one with a first education qualification only. Those added qualifications also mean you can spread your wings beyond school teaching should the need arise; for example, a number of my students head up training and development units for corporates or non-governmental organisations.
Third, understand that the teaching degree is not enough. Principals who appoint teachers on contract posts are also looking for other qualities besides the obvious one, experience. Are you a go-getter? Can you work in teams? Are you a good communicator? How well did you pass your education degree? (A student with 80s and 90s as averages is much more attractive than one with 50s and 60s). Do you show initiative? What did you do while waiting? For example, I would hire a new teacher who did three months of volunteer teaching at an early childhood centre or an adult literacy group or a high school tutoring program. Signs of life, I call it.
Yes, it is a contract and not a permanent post, but at least you have a foot in the door. This is your chance to show off, to prove to the principal and other teachers that you stand out by staying after school to help with netball coaching or extra classes. To be honest, this is the kind of young teacher I would hire in a flash.
I know this sounds harsh, but there is an upside to the coming teacher retrenchments. This is the time for principals to clear out dead wood. Every school has them, teachers who long ago lost the spirit of teaching and the enthusiasm for the subject. I would recommend such teachers to the department for transfer or termination. Then bring in new blood, such as recent graduates with the buoyancy and commitment to change the lives and learning of our children.
When that happens, make sure you are in the front of the queue with a spanking CV, excellent results, internship experiences and a commitment to work hard on behalf of other people’s children.
And finally, stay positive. Don’t sink into despair and certainly do not blame the foreigners teaching in our schools. Without those Zimbabwean maths and science teachers, school education would sink even further into the doldrums in South Africa. No, this is not a time for xenophobia when we need the best teachers in the worst schools.
Look inward, not outwards. Prepare yourself in such a way that when a post opens up somewhere, and it will, you make yourself indispensable for the job.
God bless you in the search.
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