Episode 21

Interview 21: Paudie Moore - The Teacher's Coach

Over the last couple of years I've chatted to a number of people about wellbeing in the classroom but usually from a child's point of view. And I've talked about resilience, growth mindset, all that kind of stuff. But one thing I'm always interested in is about a teacher's own wellbeing. I was really happy to be joined by Paudie Moore, aka The Teacher's Coach. And that's exactly what he specialises in.

Transcript
Speaker:

Hello, hello, you're very welcome to If I Were the Minister

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for Education from Anshawe.

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net, a regular podcast where I look

into the world of primary education

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and let you know what I would do if

I were the Minister for Education.

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This is Simon Lewis.

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On this week's special, I have

an interview with someone who

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you might be very interested in.

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If you're feeling a little bit

down, a little lack of energy,

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and you're looking for someone

or to help you out of that rush.

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Before we do, if you're interested

in this podcast or any of my other

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episodes, you can go along to OnShot.

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net or subscribe on any of your

favourite podcasting platforms to get

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If you also want to, you can subscribe

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you of the podcast, but also provides you

with some extra features, including extra

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news stories that have interested me, as

well as some technology advice, which I

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produce on YouTube every couple of weeks.

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Okay, that's enough of a pitch from me.

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I hope you enjoyed the interview

and I'll chat to you again.

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Hello, hello everybody.

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I am joined today by a very exciting

guest because over the last couple of

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years I've chatted to a number of people

about well being in the classroom but

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usually from a children's point of view.

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And so we've talked about resilience,

growth mindset, all that kind of stuff.

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But I, one thing I'm always,

I'm always interested in is

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about teachers own well being.

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We're big into helping children

with their own well being.

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What about ourselves as teachers?

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And I'm really happy to be joined by Paddy

Moore, who is from The Teacher's Coach.

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And that's exactly what he specializes in.

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Paddy's here is here with me from

Limerick and I'm really, really eager

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to find out how I'm going to increase

my own well being as well as I hope

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it'll help your own well being.

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Because every time I hear

that word, I tend to shudder.

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After this interview, I'm

sure I'll be seeing the word

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in a totally different light.

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Foddy, you're so welcome to If I

Were the Minister for Education.

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Speaker 2: Simon, thanks

so much for having me here.

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It's fantastic to get the opportunity

to have this chat with you today.

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Speaker: No problem at all.

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Without sounding like the, the

first question in a job interview

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tell us about yourself, Foddy.

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Speaker 2: I'm a former woodworking

Tektron teacher, and I would have

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grown up really sporty, I would have

grown up on a farm, and so I would

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have always been really active.

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However, when I went to college priorities

shifted a little bit, as you do, you go

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out that little bit more in college, etc.

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Sports took a back seat, wasn't really as

active, so when I came to a point where I

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was ready to start teaching, I had found

myself in the worst shape of my life.

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I had started to pick up

every bad habit under the sun.

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And when I started teaching, things

went downhill for me very, very quickly.

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So that thing prompted me

to be in a situation where I

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needed to To find a way out.

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And that's something that

I really struggled with.

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I feel that at the time I was

looking around for something

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to suit me, but I couldn't find

anything specifically for teachers.

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Everything that was out there at the time

was very much centered around restriction

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and these six and eight week plans.

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That wasn't something that I

really had much of an interest in.

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I wanted to be able to still live my

life, but live a little bit healthier.

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I was at a loss, and it very much

felt like there was no way out for me.

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I had been trying for quite a while

to get myself back on track, but

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it was just failed attempt after

failed attempt after failed attempt.

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And it wasn't until after two years

as a teacher, I decided that I

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wanted to, to, to move from teaching

in the UK to teaching in the UAE.

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That's Spurred me to, to get myself back

on track because I figured that going over

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to a sunny climate, going over to the, to

there, I couldn't be hiding away under a

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nice blazer, a nice woolly jumper anymore.

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So it was then that I started to, to get

myself back into a good routine with,

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with my health and fitness from there.

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Speaker: Brilliant, brilliant.

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And, so you, you went over to

the UAE and you taught over there

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for a little bit of time, was it?

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Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so I spent two years

teaching in the UK, first of all, then

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I spent two years teaching in the UAE

and it was coming towards the end of

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the second year, I found myself spending

more time doing workout plans, doing

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diet plans than I was doing lesson plans.

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It was becoming clear at that point

that there was a need for a change.

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Like I said, I got myself back into a

routine because of the move to the UEE.

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But I had really found a passion for

health and fitness at that point.

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And so I then decided that the teaching

I'd given it a fair go after four

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years, it hadn't really taken for me.

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So I decided to, to, to go

ahead first with the health

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and fitness side of things.

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So at that point, after two years of

teaching the UE I left the teaching

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completely and I went working as

a personal trainer and it was from

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there I had gone from almost earning.

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So what I've been earning as a week as

a teacher, I was earning less per month

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as a PT, but I've never been happier.

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So it was clear to me at that point

that I had really found something that

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I, that I was really passionate about.

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Speaker: That's it.

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That's brilliant.

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It's so important to

do the things you love.

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And to even, even if we are interviewed

ended as quickly as this, I think one

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message, if you're not happy in a job,

like there is it, there is life after,

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after I think particularly in teaching.

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Cause I think one of the things I found

about teaching is that most people,

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and I know it's different now because

of different routes into teaching.

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But a lot of people never leave school.

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They go to school in junior infants and

come out of it retired as a teacher.

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They've never actually

left a school building.

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And that can be, that's

quite daunting in some ways.

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It's great.

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Congratulations for

actually making the step.

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It's not an easy thing to do.

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So how did you get from being, a

teacher to being a teaching coach?

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So that's

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Speaker 2: So it actually, it turned out

to be quite a natural progression for me.

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Like I say, I started off working on

the gym floor because everybody who

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I looked up to in the industry at

the time had all started in that way.

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It was always my goal that I wanted

to become an online coach, but I

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knew that to become a good online

coach, I first of all, needed to hone

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my craft on the, on the gym floor.

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So while I was working on the gym

floor, I was also starting to try to

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build my online presence, but because.

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I was just after moving away from, from

teaching most of the people who are

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following me online were all teachers.

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Speaker: And

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Speaker 2: very quickly what I started

to realize was that even though my

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face to face clients I was seeing

them maybe two or three times a week.

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It was my online clients who

were getting far better results.

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And from, from what I saw from that was

even from my own transformation, I knew

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that the training element was only a

small part of the transformation puzzle.

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So in the online capacity, we were able

to dig a lot deeper and be able to serve

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our clients in a much better capacity.

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But also because it came from the

teaching background, I knew exactly

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the types of problems that the teaching

clients would have been facing.

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So after spending two years on the

gym floor, I I decided then to double

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down on what was really working

and that was serving teachers.

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And that's when I went fully online.

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That was just over three years ago.

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And that's what we've been doing since.

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Speaker: Brilliant.

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So you basically, you specialize

in teacher health and wellbeing.

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So tell me, I suppose it might

be a silly question, but what

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does a healthy teacher look like?

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And what are the kinds of

things that makes an otherwise

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healthy teacher, not be healthy?

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What affects their wellbeing?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think

that's a fantastic question.

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I think that for a well balanced teacher,

I think that they, in my opinion, it's

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someone who works hard but also has strict

boundaries in place at the same time.

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So they're able to leave work and work

and then have their own personal life.

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I think a healthy teacher is someone

who feels energetic, who feels driven,

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who feels excited by what they do.

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And I think that what kind of gets

in the way of that sometimes is that

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because just, just like me as a coach,

teachers get into the role because they're

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passionate about helping other people.

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And I think that's absolutely fantastic.

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However, that can sometimes

skew the work life balance.

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And it can sometimes mean that

we're, we're, we're putting too much

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into our job and then there's not

enough left to look after ourselves.

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Another thing that I find

affecting teachers when it comes

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to prioritizing their health and

fitness is the academic calendar.

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In fact it's, it's obviously one of the

perks of being a teacher is, is the, the,

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the, the regular breaks, but that seems

to make it quite challenging for teachers

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to be able to find a consistent flow.

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with their health and fitness routines

because they're going to need one kind

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of routine that's going to serve them

in their term time, but they're going

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to need another type of routine, maybe

50 to 60 percent of full capacity

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that will be able to enable them to

stay consistent when they're out of

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their normal school routine as well.

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Speaker: Yes.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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No, that makes, that makes a lot of sense.

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And, and are you, are you saying that a

teacher a teacher whose health and being

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is working out quite well is, they have

that divide between being in work zone

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and not being in work zone kind of thing?

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Would that be, would that be fair?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely.

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I think there has to, like you say,

I think there has to be a divide and

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I also think that there has to be

something that, that teachers can

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be quite prone to is putting other

people's needs ahead of their own.

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And again, I think that's a fantastic

quality that they're willing to do that,

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but more often than not, that can, that

will lead to their detriment as well,

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because we need to appreciate that.

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we can't pour from an empty cup.

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And if you're not doing things on

a regular basis to fill your own

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cup up first, that's eventually

going to end up wearing you down.

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So that's why I'm saying I feel

it's really important that we have

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that divide between work life and

personal life and make sure that

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we're doing enough to be able to, to,

to fill our cup up in both regards.

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Speaker: Yeah.

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And do you think it's a kind of a, I'm not

saying completely unique about teachers,

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but Do you feel teachers are re, somewhat

unique in that thing that, that your,

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your day doesn't start and end when

you're in the, in, in the work building?

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You're constantly thinking about your job.

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Is, is that, is that something

unique to teachers or have you

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found that's, maybe, maybe it's,

it's across the board these days?

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Speaker 2: I think it's 100

percent unique to teachers.

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I think it's very hard for anybody outside

of the teaching profession to understand

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just how draining the role can be.

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And I think we've all done the early

role when someone makes a comment

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of, Oh, you're off half the year, or

you're off at three o'clock in the day.

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I think it's very hard for, for

someone outside of it to understand

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just how physically, mentally,

emotionally draining it can be.

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And if you're not equipped with the

tools, with the strategies to be able to,

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to reenergize yourself in all of those

three areas, Again, it is going to have

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a negative impact and I think sometimes,

because as teachers people look to us to

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have the answers, like students will look

to us to have the answers for everything,

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I think even in social situations as a

teacher people expect you to have the

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answers to a lot as well, and I think

that we can sometimes unfairly do that.

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Thank you.

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Put that expectations on ourselves

too, in that we expect to have, that we

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need to figure this out for ourselves

when in fact you're an expert in your

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field, but you don't, you, and as a

teacher, you have to wear so many hats.

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So at the end of the day, the last thing

that you're going to want to do is,

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is to have to be your own health and

fitness coach at the end of the day too.

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Speaker: That's true enough.

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That's true enough.

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So I, I'm, I'm a, I'm a teacher.

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He, he, I've recognized, okay, I need

to look after myself and I come along to

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you and I say, okay, I think I need to,

need to do something for myself here.

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What, what kind of, what, what,

what, what would be the first thing?

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You'd do with with a

teacher who comes to you

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Speaker 2: think that what's going to be

most important is to first and foremost,

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realize that everybody's individual and

even though we said that we had teachers

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specifically what a teacher who is a

mom of three young kids is going to

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have a completely different lifestyle.

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So maybe.

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A guy who is in his fourth year

single, so their lifestyles are

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going to look completely different.

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So the first stage of our, of our program

for everybody that joins is we enter them

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into what we call a foundation phase.

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And that's basically us having a

bit of a lifestyle audit for you.

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So we're going to see exactly what you're

doing on a daily and a weekly basis,

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see what's serving you, see what's not.

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And then we're going to start to

implement habits and routines from

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there that are going to start moving

you in the direction towards the

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goals that you're looking to achieve.

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Speaker: Okay.

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Okay.

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And, and in terms of the kind of

goals that teachers might come to

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you with, what, what are the sort of,

what, what sort of goals are, are,

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are, are they generally looking for?

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Is it, is it, is it, it's obviously

fitness is part of it, but I presume

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there's other, other aspects.

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What kind of stuff do you come across?

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Speaker 2: There's three main ones that

we deal with on a most regular basis.

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One is going to be weight loss.

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People want to be able to come

in, they want to be able to feel

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fantastic in their own skin.

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So weight loss confidence is going

to come as a byproduct of that.

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And I think the confidence is going

to come from you showing up and

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doing what you said you would do.

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So when you start setting and

achieving goals for yourself, that's

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of course going to have a positive

effect on your overall confidence.

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And what we found is that when you

get somebody thriving in terms of

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their health and fitness, they're

That confidence trickles into every

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other aspect of their life as well.

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Weight loss, confidence, and then

energy, I think, is one of your most

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valuable currencies as a teacher.

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And I think if you don't have good energy

on a daily basis, it's going to be very

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hard for you to be able to enjoy life.

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It's going to be very important for

us to be able to equip our teachers

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with the strategies, with the tools,

of how to be more efficient with their

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time, how to be able to create energy,

how to be able to manage energy.

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How to manage the stress that goes

hand in hand with the teaching.

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And those are three of the key areas

that we primarily focus on with

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the teachers that we work with.

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Speaker: Brilliant.

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And so tell me then so we've

talked about the problems that,

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teachers might come to it.

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So what does a healthy teacher look like?

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Would you say, I know, I know

that's a, a broad question, but

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Speaker 2: I think a healthy

teacher would be one who would

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have a good work life balance.

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Someone who can show up at their work,

give their best to their, to their work.

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But when it comes to the end of the

day, when it comes to maybe 4, 4

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30, they can leave work and work.

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They can come home, they can

compartmentalize, they can leave that

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there, and then they can be, they can be

free to enjoy the rest of their evening.

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Whether that means that they're gonna

go, go for a run, go to the gym,

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maybe go spend time with friends.

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they need to have more of a

balanced lifestyle to be able to

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have that overall health focus.

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Speaker: Yeah, no, that makes sense.

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I, I work with principals mainly.

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I'm a, I'm a principal myself.

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And there's all these reports

out at the moment, there's a

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sustainability report being done

by, by an organization, the IPPN.

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And the reports are saying the principles

around the country are, have twice the

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amount of stresses as the national norm.

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They've, they're like, the, the

figures just seem to be incredibly

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scary that we're pretty much killing

ourselves from because of our job.

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And, and I, I, I, I then again

wonder, I, I, there, with all

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the best rule in the world as a,

as a principal versus a teacher.

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Is there something, can, I think, and

I, I, I don't doubt that if a principal

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used the same concepts, they'll probably

end up in the, in the, in a better place.

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Is there anything extra though, let's say,

that a school leader might need to think

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about, because the job is, Just so crazy.

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Would you, would you have principal

clients where you've had to do

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something a little bit different

or is it just the same stuff

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that, that, that they need to do?

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Speaker 2: I, I know

exactly what you mean.

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My mother was actually a primary

school principal herself, so

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I've witnessed firsthand the

workload that comes with that.

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And we've actually got, we've

actually got a handful of principals

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on the program at the moment.

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And I think that What we need to

realise is that as a leader of the

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school, it's going to be important

for you to lead from the front.

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So if it's the case that we're saying

that it's going to be important to focus

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on well being in the school, it can't

be a case where you as a principal are

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there till half eight, nine o'clock every

night and burning the candle on both ends.

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I think that it's going to be important

that, as I say, that you lead from

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the front and you make sure that if

you're going to be preaching about the

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importance of well being, you need to

be seen to be, to be prioritizing that

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in your own day to day life as well.

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I feel that in terms of the

actual strategies to serve

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principals, there's not much of a

difference that needs to be there.

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Of course, we need to be able to allow

for the fact that a principal is going

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to have maybe more responsibility on

their shoulders than a classroom teacher.

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However, that is going to work,

that is going to depend very much

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on an individual basis as well.

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Speaker: Hmm.

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Hmm.

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No, that, that, that makes

that makes a lot of sense.

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I, I, I know it's probably the same,

the same sort of thing, but I suppose

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in every job, there's, there's, it's,

as you say, it's an individual thing.

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I, I, we talk, we've, we've skirted

around the, the, this word well being a

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little bit, or I have anyway, at least.

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And, and, and I suppose I want to

ask you about your opinion as someone

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who, who deals with teacher being.

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About the Department of

Education's idea of well being.

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They have a well being framework.

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I'm not sure if you've ever

had a look at it or seen it.

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And I wouldn't mind hearing your

thoughts on that framework and

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whether you think it's any good or if

it, if it's missing anything, what,

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what would it really be missing?

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And so a bit of a review of it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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So first of all, I think it's fantastic

that it's something that the Department

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of Education are focusing in on.

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I think that's amazing.

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Speaker: Okay.

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Speaker 2: When I went through it,

though, what I noticed was a gap

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in terms of teachers themselves.

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I think, again, it's, of course, it's

going to be student focused, but I

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feel that there's a gap in terms of

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how teachers can look after themselves

first and foremost, because I think

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it's going to be very hard for

a teacher to be able to promote

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well being if they're burnt out.

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stressed out, maybe they haven't been

prioritized, haven't been able to find

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the time to prioritize their health and

fitness for the last number of years.

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I think it's going to be

very hard for them to then be

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able to serve their students.

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So I think in terms of the policies

that the Department of Education has

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set out, I think that there's a gap

in terms of how do teachers look after

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themselves first and foremost, and

be able to show up their very best.

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For their students then as well.

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I understand that there's there's a big

focus being put in in terms of CPD and how

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to which is going to be teaching, which

would be educating teachers on how to

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be able to serve their students better.

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But how do we, how do we look after

ourselves better is something that I think

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:

there could be a bit more of a focus on.

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Speaker: Yeah, I, I, I'd agree with you.

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It's, it's certainly something that I,

I saw when I read the framework, I was

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:

thinking what about, what about us?

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And a question I asked a previous

guest, because she was quite critical

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of the framework, was this idea that

there's a lot of reliance and I think

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a lot of pressure on teachers because

they have this idea that there's

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:

this one good adult in every school

who looks after, the, the well being

366

:

needs of, of, of children and that.

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Did you find the teachers?

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seem to take on that pressure

a lot at their own expense.

369

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Speaker 2: 100%, 100%.

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And I've actually, I've actually dealt

with a handful of teachers who were the

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well being coordinators for their schools.

372

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And these teachers themselves

were struggling big time

373

:

with prioritizing themselves.

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And I feel that again, that's where

the gap is here is that if, if you.

375

:

if you're struggling yourself, how are you

going to be able to support other people?

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And I feel that there's, there's a lack

of support for teachers in, in that area.

377

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Speaker: Okay.

378

:

And, and if we, if we had a magic

wand and, and I know the name

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:

of this podcast is if I were the

minister for education kind of thing.

380

:

And if we, if you were the minister for

education, but I want to ask you about

381

:

that later, but if, but on this specific

point, exactly about looking after

382

:

teachers and we had our magic wand of

being the minister, what would that kind

383

:

of look like if for, for let, let's look

at that because we are all going to have

384

:

a well being coordinator in our schools.

385

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What do you, what kind of supports do you

think they need in order to do their job?

386

:

Speaker 2: I think that they're going

to need to know, number one, how to be

387

:

able to put strong boundaries in place.

388

:

How to be able to have a better work

life balance so that they're not, like

389

:

we said earlier, burning the candle

on both ends, bringing work home with

390

:

them, and then Shown up on maybe 30

to 40 percent battery at all times.

391

:

They need to be, they need to be taught

how to be able to create energy, how

392

:

to be able to manage their energy

so that they're going to be able

393

:

to show up at their best as, as the

leader for their class, for their

394

:

students, even for their colleagues.

395

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I think that would be one one thing

that where I would start with.

396

:

Secondly, I think what teachers need

is to be taught how to be able to have

397

:

more helpful co op mechanisms in place.

398

:

I think the job itself, as we said

earlier, it's quite demanding both

399

:

physically, mentally and emotionally.

400

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And I feel that if you're not,

401

:

if you're not sure how to be able

to re energize yourself physically,

402

:

mentally and emotionally, it's going

to be very hard for you to give

403

:

back at your very best then as well.

404

:

And I think that without us.

405

:

knowledge.

406

:

It's too easy to then turn to

the unhelpful coping mechanisms.

407

:

And that's why so many people that we

deal with, they, they struggle a lot

408

:

with snacking, with comfort eating.

409

:

Some people might even turn to

alcohol to help self suit because

410

:

they don't know any better way of

helping to deal with that stress.

411

:

So I think that equipping Teachers

with strategies, with skills of how

412

:

to be able to overcome these would

enable them to be able to show up in

413

:

a much better, in a much better way.

414

:

Speaker: Yeah, I know that,

that, that makes sense.

415

:

And I suppose, we've talked about the fact

that, this is a service you're providing

416

:

to, can you tell us a little bit more

about, the, the, the teacher coach, I'm

417

:

calling it right, teacher's coach service.

418

:

That if, if teachers were interested in,

in, in maybe getting in touch to Maybe a

419

:

bit of a blurb on what they should expect.

420

:

Speaker 2: Myself and my partner,

who's also a former teacher we both

421

:

work in the business together now, she

heads up the nutrition side of things.

422

:

We work with teachers who want

to be able to take control of

423

:

their health and fitness for good.

424

:

We want to make sure that everyone

that comes through our program, it's

425

:

not just going to be another phase.

426

:

We want to make sure that everything

that we do, we're teaching our teachers

427

:

how to be able to live with the results,

live with their results for life.

428

:

So we want to make sure that anyone that

enters our program, it's going to be

429

:

the last coaching program that they're

ever going to need to sign up for.

430

:

So we want to make sure that number

one, they know exactly how to be

431

:

able to stay consistent once they

leave their time in the program.

432

:

But number two, we want to make sure

that everything that we do is adding

433

:

to the quality of their life rather

than making it are taken away from it.

434

:

So we want to make sure that

everything we do is complimenting our

435

:

lifestyle rather than complicating it.

436

:

So we want to make sure that if we're

going to start prioritizing your health

437

:

and fitness, we're going to make sure

that we're showing up better energy.

438

:

We're going to make sure that

we're showing up and having a

439

:

better relationship with food.

440

:

We're going to make sure that we're

going to learn how to be able to

441

:

factor in what's important to us.

442

:

If you'd like to go out for a meal or

maybe a couple of drinks on the weekends.

443

:

You're going to need to know how to

be able to factor that in, rather

444

:

than saying, I'm going to join this

program, I'm going to hit it at 110

445

:

percent for the next eight weeks,

and then I'm just going to go back to

446

:

old habits and routines from there.

447

:

Yeah.

448

:

Yeah.

449

:

We want to make sure that all of the

changes that we do achieve, or all

450

:

the results that we do achieve, you're

equipped with the tools, with the

451

:

knowledge, with the systems of how to

be able to live with them for life.

452

:

Speaker: Brilliant.

453

:

Brilliant.

454

:

It sounds, it sounds great because

I know there's a, a, a, Back when I

455

:

was growing up, there was a lot of

particularly weight loss programs that

456

:

seemed to be one of those, it seemed

to be unrealistic nearly to people's

457

:

lifestyles, point counting and things

like that, where, you were, you could eat

458

:

whatever you wanted as long as you stayed

under a certain amount of points, but

459

:

it never really taught you, good habits.

460

:

Is that, is that kind of what we're trying

to, we're, we're moving to, moving from?

461

:

Speaker 2: 100%, 100%.

462

:

One thing that, that I think that,

The switch that's needed there is

463

:

that we need to stop looking at it as

a phase and start looking at it as a

464

:

lifestyle and you hit the nail on the

head there by, by mentioning habits,

465

:

like everything that we do, we need

to be able to see ourselves being able

466

:

to sustain for a long period of time.

467

:

And I think that that's unfortunately

where a lot of kind of, a lot of

468

:

teachers will set themselves up

for failure before they even begin.

469

:

I think because as teachers.

470

:

We're quite driven, quite ambitious.

471

:

We can sometimes set that

bar too high to begin with.

472

:

So we might go from not, not working

out at all to five days a week.

473

:

And then we wonder why in four weeks

time, we've completely fallen off track.

474

:

We need to make sure that everything that

we're doing at the, at the beginning.

475

:

It feels realistic, it feels

sustainable, and then you can build

476

:

as you go from there, if necessary.

477

:

Speaker: Yeah, yeah, no, that,

that, that makes that makes

478

:

a lot of sense for, for sure.

479

:

The last question I have to ask you

is the one I ask every guest on the

480

:

podcast, which is if you were the

Minister for Education, you have your

481

:

benign dictatorship for a day, and

you can do whatever you wanted, and

482

:

you can do more than one thing, and

it doesn't have to be about health

483

:

and fitness or well being at all.

484

:

But it's to change the education

system in any way you want it.

485

:

Preferably a primary level,

cause that's where I'm at.

486

:

What would you, what is the one

thing you would do if you were

487

:

the minister for education?

488

:

Speaker 2: I might be, I might be looking

to earn a couple of brownie points by

489

:

saying this one, but I think the one

thing that I would be, be focusing on is

490

:

making sure the teachers are paid fairly.

491

:

I think one thing that we I'm going

to say I have been, maybe some

492

:

of your listeners have also been,

is been related to a childminder.

493

:

And I feel like I, I know people

who send their kids to childminders

494

:

and they pay in rural Ireland,

they pay 30, 30 euros a day.

495

:

So if you were to say 30 euros a day

per student and you had a regular

496

:

class of 20 students, if you said 600

euros a day, five days a week, 3, 000

497

:

a week, Yeah, 3, 000 euros a week.

498

:

That would be 12 grand a month.

499

:

I think that that would be fair pay for if

we're going to be compared to ChildMinder.

500

:

I think that if you were to improve

teachers pay, improve teachers well

501

:

being, improve teachers work life balance.

502

:

I think that we wouldn't be

having the issues that we're

503

:

having now with teacher shortages.

504

:

I don't think that we'd have the issues

now with so many teachers feeling the

505

:

need to go further afield for employment.

506

:

A lot of our younger teachers are

immigrating to different parts

507

:

of the world for better work, for

better work life balance, really.

508

:

And I think that that would be one of

the first things that I would be looking

509

:

to tackle if I was in that position.

510

:

Speaker: Yeah, I think, I think one

of the things, and I think we've been

511

:

like almost complacent around teaching

that was, because it was always

512

:

considered this cushy number third.

513

:

great holidays, half day, blah,

blah, blah, blah, that people

514

:

sometimes would, would accuse us of.

515

:

But the, the actual private sector,

I feel, has caught up in terms

516

:

of looking after employees being,

and their, and their rights.

517

:

Like perks, we, we just don't, that

we now, in some ways, we have to

518

:

compete with, that teaching isn't this

kind of cushy job that it used to be.

519

:

It's, it's definitely more complex

than we know, we know all that.

520

:

And I but but I think the, the other side

of it is that, that the private sectors.

521

:

Caught up like there are, imagine,

I, I, I think the thought of actually

522

:

working from home is so appealing.

523

:

I know that will never happen

for me because I've chosen to

524

:

be a teacher, but, but it didn't

exist when I started teaching.

525

:

So would I have gone into teaching if I

knew I had, there was another job where

526

:

I I might be able to work from home or

I might have a flexible work work time.

527

:

I might be able to take,

certain types of leave.

528

:

I could do this 80 20 kind of style

where 20 percent of my day is spent on

529

:

things I actually like, enjoy doing.

530

:

All those sort of things,

I think, feed into it.

531

:

And then, of course, as you say,

conditions in countries like in the

532

:

Gulf States or even, other places.

533

:

We do have to compete with it.

534

:

So I don't think, I don't

think you're wrong there.

535

:

I think sometimes we're,

we're so complacent.

536

:

And I think the, I'm not so sure.

537

:

Blaming the media because it's everybody

whenever I say I'm a teacher, the first

538

:

thing they ask me is about holidays

you you at some point, you go actually

539

:

do you know when it comes down to it?

540

:

Yes, that is absolutely a

wonderful kind of thing.

541

:

To have If we're comparing, we're not

comparing, like with like anymore,

542

:

different jobs have different things

to make and you, you, you, you found

543

:

that teaching was something that, you

found that you, wasn't something that

544

:

you were going to be able to sustain,

and this is a job now that you can

545

:

sustain, and was good for your wellbeing,

not, not because of hours or any of

546

:

that, but, the day that you, you found

that you were I think, I think we

547

:

do have to make teaching attractive.

548

:

Or more attractive.

549

:

We can't just presume.

550

:

It's, ah sure, aren't they grand,

they're just minding, minding kids.

551

:

And so on.

552

:

Would that be fair?

553

:

Am I being, am I being unfair there?

554

:

Speaker 2: I think we're both very

much singing off the same hymn sheet.

555

:

And I think that it, If there isn't

something done about it, like it's a

556

:

profession where people are leaving

in their droves almost every year.

557

:

So I think there is a need

for change in some way.

558

:

But I don't think I'll ever be

in that position of power, so I

559

:

don't think it'll be up to me to

come up with the solution to it.

560

:

Dreaming.

561

:

Exactly.

562

:

Speaker: You never know, you never know.

563

:

But listen, it's been an absolute

pleasure talking to you, Paddy, and

564

:

thanks so much for for joining me on

If I Were the Minister for Education.

565

:

If people want to reach out and find

you, what's the easiest way to get you?

566

:

Speaker 2: On Instagram,

pottymoreteacherscoach will

567

:

be the best way to contact me.

568

:

Brilliant.

569

:

Speaker: Thanks so much, Potty.

570

:

A pleasure talking to you.

571

:

Speaker 2: You too, Simon.

572

:

Thanks so much for the opportunity.

573

:

Speaker: There you have it.

574

:

I hope you enjoyed that interview,

and if you have and you'd like to

575

:

hear more interviews, please from

me with some of the most interesting

576

:

people in primary education.

577

:

You can go to unshot.

578

:

net for more of them.

579

:

If you've enjoyed this podcast, you

can subscribe to the podcast using

580

:

your favorite platform, whether that

is Google Podcasts or Apple Podcasts.

581

:

Podcasts or Spotify or any

of your other platforms.

582

:

I'm also on YouTube as well if you

want to tune in and watch along.

583

:

You can also look at my techie tips every

couple of weeks which are also on YouTube.

584

:

And you can subscribe to my

newsletter which has even more stuff.

585

:

Which is which can be found on on shop.

586

:

net slash subscribe.

587

:

And that will give you an email every day.

588

:

Two weeks and I promise

no junk mail in there.

589

:

So that's it for me for this week.

590

:

We'll catch you again

in a couple weeks time.

591

:

All the very best.

592

:

Bye bye.

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Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education
An Irish Primary Education Podcast

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Simon Lewis