What I See with Peter Fiorenza: Why teaching is a constantly evolving occupation which you can never master

How do you know that you are good at your job? When I refer to job, it could be your occupation or the role you play in the community. Well, for me, in many respects, my occupation and my community role is wrapped into one. As a teacher or educator, I reckon there are the daily chores of marking the roll, presenting a lesson and marking assessments, but the role is something more. If I had to write a job description, the space I have for this column would not be enough. For starters, teachers are continually multitasking. From explaining how to write an essay effectively, to disciplining the moody kid at the back of the classroom, to assisting the little girl with a learning difficulty, or helping another student with career advice, we seem to be always on a treadmill. And I’m finding I’m always having to upskill to keep relevant. For instance, the student I had sitting in my classroom five years ago is a very different beast to the one I have today. You could say, young people are a product of their immediate environment, the factors that influence what and how they think, and what interests them. It is keeping abreast of these evolving nuances that actually keeps me interested in the game. How I explained something to a student at the beginning of my career 20 years ago often needs a delivery overhaul in respect to a student today. Over this period, our lifestyles have dramatically altered. When I began teaching, mobile phones were still very much in the novelty phase, laptops didn’t exist and pay TV was some American thing. And the dynamics of a classroom are now a whole new ball game. This is why, I believe, you can never master the teaching gig — in so many ways, it is always a work in progress. So, how do you rate your performance? Again, for me, this is relative. The other day, I had bus duty and was leaning on the school brick fence, watching the continual car, bus and SUV detail file by. Suddenly, I heard a voice yelling out, “Look , it’s Mr Frenza, there. Look, leaning on the wall!” “Hey Frenza, hey mate?” Coming up in the row of cars was a big Toyota LandCruiser totally covered in mud, music blearing out, and a group of youths hanging out the window. OK, I thought, what’s going to happen here? As I peered inside the vehicle, the young driver leant across his mate and started yelling through the window. “Hey Mr Frenza, you remember me?” For the life of me, I had no idea, but, obviously, it was a past student, but the driver, much like his rig, was covered in dirt. I waved with the thumbs up, hoping that the greeting didn’t develop into something more undesirable. The vehicle presently passed by. “Bloody hell, Frenza, hey. . . Gee, I loved being in his class . . .” Enough said. Peter Fiorenza hosts Fiorenza on Sunday between 10am and noon on Radio MAMA