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I recently finished an English degree, having spent three years learning about a subject I absolutely love. Lately I’ve been thinking back to secondary school and the ways in which my future plans/interest were nurtured
And they totally weren’t. Despite being adamant I didn’t want to work in a clinical setting or at a desk job, the only career recommended to me was in speech therapy - a job at the time I knew little about but suspected was quite clinical
I now know that a speech therapist has an incredible job and can only imagine what it’s like with my limited experience in phonetics and phonology education, but know that this particular area of language isn’t what interested me most in my degree
Schools are told that engineering and science is the future. I have no doubt it is. But not everyone can do these subjects. I certainly couldn’t. The heavy emphasis on these employable jobs left people who weren’t good at them feeling alienated and confused.
The only subject I was really interested in (and good at) in school was English literature, and I wanted to go to university to study books and poetry. At the time the scary mantra that “arts degrees lead to unemployment” was rife - and still is. This greatly annoys me.
At this stage, careers that are off limits to me are vocational ones. I won’t be a medical doctor anytime soon but you can bet I knew that when I applied to university. When I get my degree, I will have a degree.
Schools fail to mention that job opportunities can arise outside of academic settings - hobbies and interests as well as part-time employment can point you in directions academia never would’ve. But that course I took undoubtedly equipped me with skills to help in the real world
Such as listening and respecting other people’s point of view and lifestyles, opening my mind and challenging issues considered acceptable in society. I also learned transferable skills like public speaking, time management and group work.
Not to mention the student life which taught me financial tips, social skills and responsibility. I was fortunate that I stuck to my guns and chose a course I enjoyed, so that when life was tricky, as it is for everyone at times, it wasn’t made tougher by uni
I had English teachers at school that we’re fantastic, and encouraged my love for the subject. They made texts so engaging and encouraged a wide range of perspective (or as wide as they could while sticking to the school ethos and curriculum)
However, I had one English teacher who refused to interact with my opinion and told us how to interpret a text, which I’ve since learnt isn’t fair. They would make students feel uncomfortable and were feared, often evoking tears.
Luckily, I had this teacher quite late in my secondary school career, so my goal to study literature was already strengthened before I joined her class. She disliked my hand raising to challenge a point, and expressed this, but I was strong enough to rise above it.
However, I’m aware that younger students may be affected by that. This could cause their passion for a subject to diminish. This thread was just to express many feelings but I guess if there’s one take away, it’s to maintain your integrity no matter what
