A teacher finding satisfaction and fulfilment in his job should, on the face of it, hardly be cause for a news story.
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But Canberra high school teacher Sam Davies, who loves his job, is also the subject of a national advertising campaign showcasing the importance of teachers in a bid to attract more people into the profession.
This is an obviously important campaign because of how crucial properly staffed and resource schools are to our nation and its future prosperity.
There will never be a time in which teachers are not linchpins of society, regardless of the forces that drive people into the job, or away from it.
Education is free and compulsory, and schools' routines, rhythms and conventions are the building blocks of family life. School unites many of us as a shared experience, regardless of whether we have a children or were brought up in a different country.
A well-educated adult population, one that is equipped to deal with the technological, environmental and many other challenges of the future is firmly in the national interest.
So why would a campaign stressing the importance of the profession, and the value of entering it, be deemed necessary?
For one reason, you only have to look at a recent report in our pages showing that ACT public school staff reported 38 incidents of occupational violence per school day as the number of safety improvement notices tripled in the last financial year.
![Sam Davies, the face of the Be That Teacher campaign, right, with ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong Sam Davies, the face of the Be That Teacher campaign, right, with ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/RXMuw2JbrrS7ELSxSY9rkR/ba91169c-d74e-48a2-9d67-627b39f60bb2.jpg/r0_141_5300_3133_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The story included comments from the ACT branch secretary of the Australian Education Union that the rate of occupational violence was unacceptable.
This is correct; the notion that teachers in Canberra, or anywhere, are subject to violence of any kind, is abhorrent. Teachers deserve to be supported and protected as they carry about their work.
The challenges of the job are not insignificant. Long hours - many unseen, lack of respect from some parents, difficult students, high stress levels due to understaffing, a high rate of attrition, burnout, exhaustion.
Yet, as the subject of the former article Sam Davis attests, for many teaching is a worthwhile, fulfilling and even, in the ACT at least, a well-remunerated profession.
This campaign serves as an important counterpoint to the narrative frequently pushed by unions that teaching is among the most thankless, dangerous and unfulfilling jobs around.
Of course, we can't take a Pollyanna approach to a profession that involves hard work with often vulnerable people at crucial times in their lives.
But we do a disservice to the many teachers who see their job as a vocation by constantly talking about the negatives.
For many, the myriad challenges of teaching children and young adults is a positive driving force, and the opportunity to play such a crucial role in the moulding of young lives is a privilege.
There are countless stories like those of Mr Davies, stories of people who have redirected their careers from something empty and unsatisfying to a more noble cause. Not to mention one with a better work-life balance and longer holidays.
It's true that the same people often enter the job with rose-coloured glasses, which are swiftly removed as the terms roll on.
But many of us have teachers we haven't forgotten, for all the right reasons. And many teachers feel they are making a difference to the children and teenagers in their care.
We should keep them in mind in how we describe and depict teaching as a calling, rather than just a means to an end.
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