Teaching has been voted as one of the most respected careers in London, according to education charity, Teach First. The charity recruits, trains and places trainee teachers in schools serving disadvantaged communities.
As part of a national poll carried out my broadcast specialist Markettiers, nearly half (47%) of those surveyed in Greater London voted teachers as one of the most respect careers, alongside doctors (65%).
The charity also reveals over a half (53%) of people in Greater London have thought about becoming a teacher – with half of those (26%) saying the past year has encouraged them to think about it.
Almost half (43%) of Londoners agree that people underestimate how much impact a teacher can have on someone’s childhood, while over half (56%) believe that teachers shape the future generation in wider society. Four in ten (41%) believe that their favourite teacher had a positive impact on their life.
The pandemic seems to be changing the public’s perceptions on teachers’ impacts - with about a third (29%) of those in Greater London surveyed saying that the pandemic made them rethink how important teachers are to their local community, by stating that they have been vital to their local area. Almost four in ten (39%) also agreed that teachers aren’t given enough credit for the work they do.
Alongside this, three in 10 (37%) of Londoners also feel that teachers in their local community need to be given being given more time to support their pupils, should be paid more (39%) and that schools in their local areas need better learning resources (35%). As part of their school recovery manifesto, Teach First is calling for more support through a significant increase in funding for schools serving disadvantaged communities over the next five years, to address growing inequality in education.
Encouraging public to think of the positive impacts of teachers, when asked their favourite teacher of TV and film, those in London voted Karate Kid’s Mr Miyagi first, closely followed by Matilda’s Miss Honey and Whoopi Goldberg’s Sister Act 2 character - Sister Mary Clarence. Londoners favoured the fictional teachers’ listening skills (28%), patience (27%) and intelligence (26%). It seems that they valued the same qualities in real teachers of today, citing patience (51%), good listeners (42%) and intelligence (40%) as the attributes that real teachers display.
