Obviously I’m not a teacher. I have been thinking about becoming one on and off for a decade. However, I have multiple fears that impact my ability to do this role and I have imposter syndrome just from being in academia, so teaching would be my current mindset multiplied by infinity.

Whenever I think about how ill-prepared I am, I always think about how I’d like to teach like Wendy Ashall. I thought Wendy‘s seminars were brilliant. She taught me on my Access to Higher Education course and again on my Award in Education and Training. In the latter she told my group something that stuck with me, and I’ll try to paraphrase her:

In the first year, you write the syllabus and have to adapt it as you go along. In the second year, you tweak it using the feedback and experience from the previous year. In the third year, you feel more comfortable because the course seems to work well. In the fourth year, the course is cancelled so you have to develop a new syllabus.

These words stuck with me because they helped me realise that great teachers are also learning as they go along, and even they have nervous moments and doubts. So it’s OK for me to have them too.

Finally, this gif reminds me of Wendy ☺

source: wheninacademia.tumblr.com/post/43036523953