Working hours that did not once exist,
As minutes tick and stars come out
And cleaners creep out from the lifts
With dusters and their Henry Hoovers
Ready to work through the night, but so are you.
That big promotion seemed enticing
When they dangled money bags, the promise of
The car, the house out in the ‘burbs.
But are you really loving this?
The view from thirty floors up there,
An office in the corner, views across the park,
The one they all fought for,
The one that you did win
Doesn’t seem enticing now,
More a prison, less a gift.
I have never really had a proper job before, so I’ve never really had the opportunity to fight for a corner office. However, I know from watching lots of movies that this is supposed to be the dream.
When I start my job properly in September, I will have a room of my own which feels like my equivalent to the corner office. I feel like I am absolutely winning at life!
I know that I’ll probably moaning that it’s too cold in winter and like a sauna in the summer. I’ll probably be complaining that it’s the only four walls I seem to see while I’m awake. I’ll be just like that account manager or company director that got the corner office and then saw it as a prison.
I’m excited, but I need to remember that the classroom I’m given isn’t my new home. I’m still entitled to a life outside that room.
Much Love
Rachel xx
Margot Kinberg
I think teaching is different to the traditional ‘corner office.’ No, you don’t really have a room of your own, since your students are there, too, and since you have requirements you need to meet, etc.. But you can create your own special world there, and your students can have a truly memorable experience. And yes, remember to give yourself a life outside the classroom.
clcouch123
I hope the full experience of teaching goes so well for you. I’m glad to read of your attitude toward having life outside the school as well. Our teaching space matters, though I hope most of don’t see it as the corner office. It’s a reality or metaphor that I doubt serves us in teaching where where we work might be attractive, might not be. Where our ambition is more toward learning than acquiring (though acquiring is or can be fine). Anyway, to say the least, Good luck!