“Allow your Passion to become your Purpose and it will one day become your Profession“
I never wanted to be a teacher. In fact, I didn’t even like children- especially other people’s! So it came as a bit of a shock when one day, as I sat at home, doing some research for my cousin on how to become a teacher, I had an epiphany. In a moment of clarity, complete with metaphorical light bulb going off above my head, I realised that; not only could I become a teacher, but that I should become a teacher… more than that – I MUST become a teacher.
The journey to becoming a teacher began with a passion for reading. From the age of four, I remember sitting with my beloved Grandfather, reading book after book. He would tell me gently that I needed to read ‘with expression’, and so I began to create each character as I read, using voices and accents to bring them to life.
Later in life, I showed a flair for English Literature and was able to achieve straight As at both GCSE and A Level. This led to a degree in the subject at University. And that’s when things began to go wrong.
Perhaps it was the demands of academic study, or being away from home, but I was deeply unhappy and so, my passion for reading faded. I limped to the end of my degree, but my love of reading had died.
A career in publishing did nothing to reignite that passion. Hundreds of manuscripts arrived on my desk each week. I had the job of reading each one, most of which were sadly rejected by the letter that I had to write. That was a bit of a passion killer!
My next career however, fostered a great love of writing. I worked on a national magazine for a major youth charity and wrote everything from celebrity interviews, articles and press releases. By now, I was happily married and along came my two beautiful sons. Reading to my boys, I began once again to love reading. The choices were limited to ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ and ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, but once again, the characters began to come to life. I remembered the joy of reading.
Skip forwards to that rainy afternoon, some twelve years later, when I realised that everything I had done: university, publishing, writing, reading to my sons and working for my church with children and families had brought me to that moment of realisation: that I would become a teacher of English.
Going back to University revealed to me my second passion: learning. I thrived in an academic environment and arrived at Harlington seven years ago, having trained successfully to become a teacher.
Since then, reading, teaching and learning have remained a daily passion- as natural and as essential to me as breathing. I am so fortunate that my passion became my purpose and my purpose became my profession. My dream is to help others discover their own passion for reading and learning. Who knows? Years from now some may have their very own epiphany!
Mrsjgibbs 