Career Talk #6 – June 11th, 2020: Careers in Education

“Career Talk” Quote of the Week:
“It’s ALL about the relationships”
– Principal Peter’s Education motto!

Principal Peter started his career almost by accident. Having planned on being a lawyer, he substituted at a school in NYC and instantly fell in love with teaching! That day he went and talked to the principal of that school and asked him how to get a position as a teacher. That was the beginning of a career that he loves. That reminds me of the old saying; “Do a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life!

Principal Peter’s favorite parts of being a principal are:

+ Every day is a new day, and you never know how it will unfold.
+ The interactions he has with the students and staff at Horace Mann.

I asked Principal Peter about the greatest challenges we are facing in education today and his response was this:

“First of all, we need to get our students back in school. As much as technology has been a help, it doesn’t take the place of classroom learning and the relationships that take place in that environment! The other challenge that he talked about is what I call ‘the double-edged sword’ of technology: The old fashioned educational tools of reading aloud to children and getting out and about and learning through everyday experiences can’t be replaced by phones, computers or tablets.

Here are some of Principal Peter’s thoughts about how school and community are two sides of the same coin:

* A school is a special place.
* A space to let every child knows that they are loved and cared for.
* It is all about the relationships. Relationships drive education, career, and community.