Move over, traditional career guides. In an era where jobs can involve managing virtual economies, designing sustainable cities, or programming artificial intelligence, the classic career path aren’t kids’ only option. For the next generation navigating a world of limitless career possibilities, the well-meaning advice to “follow your passion” can feel overwhelming without a map. Now, a wave of adults with truly fascinating jobs are throwing that map wide open. They’re stepping out of their labs, studios, and field sites to share the real, unfiltered career advice they wish they’d had – not just about how to land the job, but how to build a life of curiosity, resilience, and purpose. This is more than career day; it’s a mentorship movement designed to inspire the innovators, problem-solvers, and dreamers of tomorrow.

Search the keyword #careerday to find more articles like this.

What’s your name and give us the elevator pitch about your job.

Morten Holm, Danish architect and partner in Archiland Intl. where we, with our 100-people team do sustainable master plan and architecture design. And for the last five years, also now founder and co-CEO of the Green School at FunFarmFam. Below, I will share a bit on what we, our fantastic team of 15 people of educators, free-ranging animal caretakers, tree keepers and farm to table kitchen people are doing.

Overall, we call this “Learning Beyond the Classroom.” Yes, and now you may say, “WHAT!?” Well, imagine everything surrounding actually is also a place to do joyful, engaging play-based learning, using real-life environments to deepen our understanding of our lives and the surrounding world. Yes, you may still say, “WHAT!?” Okay, but picture this: This weekend activity we will start in the field, introduce “tuber plant” families and their niche in the eco system, study their strategy for growing, take a few leaves, study their green corn photosynthesis under our portable microscope, dig up the sweet potato “tubers,” bring them back to our indoor classroom, clean them up and twist and test your own recipe to your likings of a cupcake or quiche; while they are baking, we will venture back out and serve the leftovers to the goats or the chickens. That’s Learning Beyond the Classroom.

Could you walk me through a typical day or week in your role? What are your primary responsibilities?

I primarily work as a mentor (guiding and assisting learners) and creator (what and how to do) for the new or special activities. And then everything related to the new design, from the biggest landscape to the smallest poster.

Since our activities relate to real-world learning, seasons, nature etc., every week is basically slightly different.

Monday to Tuesday: I (and the team) may be preparing for visiting schools coming and the weekend activities. This means assisting educators on how to run the activity, subjects to share, how to manage the group size, weather, safety issues and so on.

Wednesday to Friday: I would maybe go to a school campus, doing an immersive school garden class together with a group of fantastic high school students, teaching elementary school students and/or visiting schools and running activities at Green School/farm for a  whole-day activity like the one mentioned above.

Saturday to Sunday: We will have families or students doing seasonal indoor/outdoor activities. Activities combine great things of interest in our field, nature, farm, using the materials here to do craft, woodwork, design thinking and, of course, food literacy/cooking tasty things!

What is the most rewarding or fulfilling part of your work? What problems do you get to solve? On the flip side, what are the most significant challenges or stressful aspects of your job?

Greatest Joy – and it by far outweighs challenges:

• Being in close contact with seasons in nature and with the modest hope that our example is inspirational to others.
• The immediate sheer joy of families and students coming here. Instantly rewarding as compared to architecture.

Greatest Challenge:

• Climate change makes growing ecological fruits/vegetables harder as well as running the part of outdoor activities more unpredictable.
• And changing the “comfort convenience” culture of some people who are not from the Nordic countries. The joy of outdoor life is really for ALL seasons!

How did you get to where you are today? You can talk about your educational route, pivotal moments, unplanned detours and any other decisions that you find important.

I was extremely lucky to come into a family of open-minded parents – that we don’t get to choose, right? This means travelling by a heavily packed car, two siblings plus me in the back seat, low-budget, heavy impractical tent across Europe in all childhood summer holidays, and getting to meet “the world” at an eye level from early on.

Later on when I was 16, I was doing the same but now on my own: backpacking, low-budget train trips, sleeping very rough across Europe for a month before mobiles, SoMe and credit cards, learning by doing on how to get by and meeting new European friends.

And later, I went on to study in the school of architecture for five years, but every summer break I was persistent enough – walking with my portfolio from studio to studio – to get internships at design studios in Denmark, Sweden and Spain. These practical experiences taught me that distant university handbook theory, to me at least, can only bring you to a certain level of knowledge, but truly understanding was far better deployed or internalized when I experienced this in a real-life context.

I guess the most pivotal moment was when I got a message from my university classmate: Come to Japan and work with me – yes, still before the wide internet and mobiles. I said yes, resigned from my first real job at a “hot” architecture studio, went to Tokyo, and shared a humble tatami room with an English-teaching Londoner I had never met before – but I learned immensely from this three-month collaboration.

In other words, a lot of growth – maybe the biggest leaps – came from whenever I was being a bit out of my comfort zone.

Knowing what you know now, if you could go back and give one piece of advice to your teenage self about work and life, what would it be?

1. Follow your own path. Gaining experience looks different to each one of us. Create your own mold, off or on “school.”

It took me quite a long time to build enough confidence to listen to myself rather than others when making choices…

2. Follow your passion and spend time following your curiosity, even if it means being a nerd, deviating from the course or not speeding through the education system.

It took me quite some time to take risks, to explore alternative ways of learning about the world and myself after schoolwork, travels, internships etc.

3. Follow and unfollow(!) your peers. Value the work of collaboration. Embrace difference and sharing exchanges.

It took me quite some time to understand the value of alternating between inspirational leading and also to fall back and be a strong team player.

Images: Morten Holm

Summer is a time of adventure, relaxation, and new experiences. In this series, we asked our readers to share their summer stories. From exciting travels to peaceful moments at home, from learning new skills to forging precious memories with loved ones, every tale is a window into the diverse and wonderful ways people spent their summers.

Let’s find out more about this mom of two, Svetlana Orem and her family did this summer. 

Every summer, our family takes spontaneity to a whole new level. We make exactly zero plans—zip, nada, nothing. We’re all about embracing the unknown, letting adventures and surprises take the wheel. It’s a bit like a game of roulette; we never know when or where the vacation will happen, but one thing’s for sure—it will happen.

Take last year, for instance. My husband surprised me with a birthday getaway to Thailand. It was my first time there, and I brought along my father (who was visiting us), our daughter, and, oh yeah, a massive eight-month-pregnant belly! Talk about an entourage.

This summer? Well, it came with a plot twist: our entire family decided to visit. We went from a cozy little unit to a rambunctious group of 15! Yes, you heard right, 15 people under one roof. “Go big or go home,” they say, and boy, did we go big. It was like hosting a reality show, minus the cameras, but with twice the fun.

One of the highlights was a trip to Sanya with my mom and our two girls. It was our youngest’s first time on the beach, and let me tell you, it was priceless. And as for me, I embarked on a solo parent adventure, flying back with just me and the two girls. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined—thank goodness for those super helpful flight attendants!

With my husband’s side of the family, we headed to Qingdao, where we devoured amazing local food and braved the freezing sea. Note to self: check the swimming season next time! Back in Beijing, our nephews and nieces became our partners in crime as we hit every fun spot imaginable—Mayan Water Park, Happy Valley, you name it.

We even discovered that Beijing is packed with escape rooms where language isn’t a barrier—perfect for our mixed-language group! The puzzles and challenges were so engaging that we ended up going to these escape rooms seven days in a row!

To top off our indoor fun, we became total board game fanatics, thanks to a haul from Roundabout. We played until the wee hours, channeling our inner teenagers and happily ignoring bedtime, because why not?

After the family visit, we extended the fun by heading to Club Med Yanqing, just outside of Beijing. We spent almost a week there—the four of us plus my mother. It was a blast! We had daily swims, enjoyed some horse rides, watched our three-year-old bravely tackle the “trapèze volant” (yes, really!), and took peaceful walks in the mountains. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and excitement.

Lately, my daughter and I have been on a creative kick, crafting 3D and pop-up books. This summer’s theme? Evolution. We dove deep into dinosaur territory, complete with Dino theaters, museum visits, and anything else to make learning fun and unforgettable.

And because summer isn’t just about play, I also teamed up with CAN (Clothing Auction Network) to organize clothing auctions, with all proceeds going to those in need. If you’re curious, scan the code and join the cause—it’s rewarding and fun!

We also just recently discovered an amazing hidden gem in Shunyi, Manmangu petting zoo, where I felt like Snow White when feeding the birds. They have all kinds of fun there, my daughter loved the foam party a lot.

As summer winds down, we’re squeezing in every last bit of adventure. Today’s agenda? A Pirate scavenger hunt, endless pool fun, and BBQ parties! What about you? What’s your next adventure?

Images: Svetlana Ore

I once had a friend who always said he tries to learn one new thing every day and that if we ever stopped learning we might as well give up and die. For some reason, that really spoke to me. Just because we’re no longer in school doesn’t mean the learning should ever stop.

Whether it’s pursuing an MBA program, learning a language, or tackling a new recipe, keeping your brain engaged and developing helps us keep our sanity in check.

For those who share a passion for learning, add TBJButler on WeChat to request to join the new Lifelong Learning in Beijing WeChat group.

This group is dedicated to lifelong learning and adult education opportunities in Beijing. The rules are simple: Post anything you want related to adult learning in Beijing — whether it be Basket Weaving, Cooking, Mandarin language, or an MBA.

Discussion and questions are welcome. This group is NOT for children’s courses (we have other groups for that).

It is also not for general events — for an opportunity to be posted here there needs to be a genuine learning outcome associated with the activity. When in doubt, ask the admin in advance.

You can find everything from martial arts to book clubs, photography, cooking classes in English, and many other interests from like-minded expats in Beijing. Have fun learning something new and making some new friends along the way.

Images: Pexels

Ah, Chinese New Year. Seven to 10 days of no-obligation celebration. Of course, traveling is once again off the table, so you are staycationing! You have cleared your desk at work, signed the kids up for camp, given ayi her red packet, and are ready to snuggle up with a good movie, a mug of tea, and just relax… Who are we kidding? We are expats, we never just chill. Here are a few things you can do to make your time off a true vacation.

Wake up your inner warrior: Shake up your workout routine and learn a new skill with Warrior One’s three-day intensive course. All skill levels are welcome and you can opt for a single day or the entire series. Either way, you are sure to walk away with more confidence and at least a couple of new moves. Feb 3-5 from 11am-5pm.

Learn something together: Grab your significant other and go for an activity date like you used to before the kids and work made Netflix and chill the only energetically viable option. The Hutong offers tons of fun classes and activities from making dumplings to learning mahjong. Scan the code for their full schedule of CNY events.

Treat yo’ self: Get back your glow with a facial, massage, and gel manicure for only RMB 299 during Alice Beauty’s CNY special! They now have three locations in Shaungjing, Sanlitun, and Shunyi. Add Alice at the QR code below for the full list of services and to schedule your appointment.

Brunch it up: Grab some friends or a good book and go for a boozy brunch like you did in your 20s. Both InterContinental’s Bee Brunch and Feast by East are extending their brunch menus and deal for the entire week of Chinese New Year! Scan the codes in the posters to make a reservation.

However you choose to spend your free hours this CNY we hope it’s relaxing and fun. You deserve it after what the year of the ox put us all through. But keep your head up. I have it on good authority that the year of the tiger is going to be fierce!

KEEP READING: Unlimited Play Time + Massage & Workouts For Parents

Images: Warrior One, Intercontinental, Feast by East, Canva

Without a doubt, providing an unflappable support system should be any parent’s top priority during their child’s early years. However, can the amount of attention a parent devotes to their child/ren be excessive at best and, at worst, lower their kids’ self-esteem?

Helicopter parenting is a popular term used to describe parents who spend much of their time focused on the safety and success of their kids, and who go to extreme lengths in order to make sure their child succeeds, often by pressuring others – such as teachers and administrators – or even doing their children’s work for them.

But, how can something as well-intentioned as dedicating your time and energy to supporting your kids be considered a bad thing? The answer is fairly simple: You lower their self-confidence. All parents want what’s best for their child, however, they also need to understand that there are some things which kids must achieve on their own in order to properly develop. By preventing your child from thinking and working things out, you also prevent them from learning how to properly behave.

This is an especially relevant topic for Beijing teens, most of whom often rely on their parents for things such as writing university applications, resumes, and more. Likewise, many students even send their parents into battle with teachers over school grades – something they should clearly do themselves. A parent’s unwillingness to let their children act for themselves has created a generation of teens who rely on other people for jobs they should otherwise do on their own.

And such a mindset today could have an outsized impact on the child’s ability to thrive in the future. For instance, if you live a life free from responsibility, you’ll struggle to cultivate self-respect and appreciation for a job well done. Of course, people should be able to count on their families for help, however, when they actively avoid accomplishing tasks only to have someone else swoop in and save the day, it’s disrespectful towards the person who’s helping, and prevents the other from reaching their full potential. While parents and teens can spend long hours arguing about who is to blame for the newer generation’s irresponsibility and immaturity, more often than not, both parties are at fault. While it is true that parents often attempt to hide their “helicoptering” from their kids, it’s inevitable that at a certain age they’ll begin noticing and responding to it. Teens must learn to confront this issue, instead of reveling in it, which in the end is another small part that makes up the long process of growing up.

Becoming independent from your parents is an integral part of maturity, but how can teens properly grow up when they are kept – and choose to keep themselves – sheltered from learning and experiencing new things, in favor of having their parents do the work for them?

Keep Reading: Inject My Child with Chicken Blood and Turn Her Into a Cow! The Low Down on The Competitive World of Chinese Parenting

Images: Unsplash

After over a year of strictly socially distanced school pick-ups, zero parent organization activities, and live-streamed concerts, I admit I felt like I was in a time warp when our school invited us to Chinese cultural classes. I had to read the email twice to make sure I wasn’t making it up. Nope. they were, in fact, reigniting their community-building activities.

That’s when I noticed more schools posting about open houses on-campus, and asked how they were able to come to these decisions. Amber Dang, Marketing and Admissions Officer, and Community Relations Officer at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing) told jingkids that “Having seen improvements in the COVID-19 situation recently in Beijing, we believe it is time to restart our parent activities with epidemic prevention measures in place. At YCIS Beijing, parental involvement plays a vital role in school life, and we are very keen to get these activities running again to enrich our community culture.”

They aren’t exactly opening up to parent activities on campus but using an off-campus office building venue close to the school. “This is perfect,” Dang says, “since it is under the school’s management and follows strict health and safety policies while still being separate from the students. It was refurbished over the winter to prepare for these activities.”

3e International School took a different approach with their Spring Story Picnic on Apr 24. Joanne O’Connor, Community Liaison Officer at 3e International School shared how “Finding meaningful and enjoyable opportunities to come together, both with our 3e families and the wider community is really important. Whilst remaining cautious and adhering to government advice such as monitoring attendee numbers, health code, and temperature scanning, and mask-wearing, we are grateful to reconnect again at this outdoor event, and enjoy the beautiful spring weather together.”

Dang explains YCIS Beijing’s precautions, even for this off-campus venue: “Parents who sign up for these classes have to submit relevant documents for approval to enter the building, and they need to wear masks at all times. We strive to offer the best possible activities for parents in a safe, healthy environment.”

Even something as simple as new parents being able to take their kids to visit potential schools in person versus making decisions through a virtual tour is outstanding. But I couldn’t help feeling a tiny twinge of springtime hopefulness in the air after seeing all these announcements, even if the events are tailored to be for smaller groups.

By May 22, YCIS Beijing will be ready to open its campus wider for Community Day.

As much as parents, myself included, sometimes roll their eyes at the socializing that’s expected as part of our children’s education, it feels like a fresh start to a newer normal we can expect in the future, and I’m hopeful the 2021-2022 school year might bring us back even closer to a more typical school year. Educators in Beijing have really done all they can to ensure their kids’ experience as close to a “normal” school as they can, and even the extended Chinese New Year and e-learning time feel far distant.

Nearly every week I need to remind my kids to stay diligent with their masks and handwashing, of course, and I’d be loathed to leave you with the idea that we shouldn’t still take these precautions. Let’s just also take a moment to enjoy the fact that parents don’t have to stay quite as distant from our schools as before.

KEEP READING: Summer Camp Previews: Survival Camp and UK University Prep

Images: courtesy of the schools

Thanks to my husband’s business travel, I was on WeChat a year before we moved to China. I thought I understood how it worked and was prepared to make it the cornerstone of my life in Beijing. However, nothing prepared me for the WeChat groups between parents and the schools. There’s an all-school group, one for each set of grades, and one for our children’s individual classes.

It’s important to note that in the case of our school and most international ones, the WeChat groups are not official school communication channels, but simply a place for parents to help one another and learn how to get more information from the staff representative. We use Seesaw and other apps to talk to educators, and teachers or staff are not encouraged to be friends with parents on WeChat. Based on conversations with parents, most international school maintain similar boundaries.

Herein lies just one difference between local and international schools, and is why this article in Caixin Global took me by surprise. Its title “Trending in China: The ‘Tyranny’ of Parent Teacher Social Media Chat Groups” immediately made me think of the parent peer pressure prevalent in many parent groups, no matter which social media platform we’re on.

The issues in the Caixin Global article, however, are much different:

Teacher-parent WeChat groups are popular across China and originally were set up to facilitate communication between parents and teachers, but more recently they have taken on the reputation of being “flattering groups” in which parents try and curry favor with teachers or become sites of petty quarrels and fights.

Thankfully, I haven’t seen much of that. Sometimes the messages come so fast and furious, however, that I get caught up in the “excitement” and feel pressure to engage in ways that I find too stressful. I have a few hard and fast rules for myself to reduce that feeling.

Only individual classroom groups are pinned to the top.

This is key. My kids’ classroom groups are the only places where we can stay on topic, ask a question, and get a direct answer with no drama. It helps that we can be very specific in these classroom groups, so there’s little elaboration needed for any questions we have.

Search for answers in the all-school group but don’t engage within it.

This lesson is hard to learn. I want to know everything that’s happening in school, right? Turns out, I really don’t. Through the main group, I often feel pressure to be more involved in our child’s day-to-day learning than I would consider normal, especially after rebounding from e-learning last spring. However, our kids are still in ECE and Lower Primary, and we’re much laxer on homework than most, so I just need to step back and make sure anything I’m considering is still based on our family values versus external pressure from other parents. So if I have a question, I search for the terms in the all-school group but don’t read anything else.

It’s okay not to answer every alert on your phone.

There’s no need to voice your opinion on every topic.

I’m all for creating a more sustainable cafeteria, for instance, but for nearly a week the conversation in our all-school group was entirely centered around the cafeteria food. My standards for cafeteria food are pretty low, thanks to attending school in the ’80s, but for all the effort spent on trying to combine hot meals with social distancing measures at schools, the parents could, quite frankly, just make their kids’ lunches themselves (and I say this as someone who hates making lunches but does it for my one child who doesn’t like school lunch).

Don’t take your stress out on your screen either.

It’s okay to delete yourself from groups that are stressing you out.

When the WeChat group is not the official communication from the school, it’s simple. Just check your email or official apps and ask questions there. Immediately using WeChat to ask a question of the parents that would be better answered directly with a teacher is not productive, and we only do it for two reasons: either we’re just used to using WeChat for everything and don’t remember to switch over to another app, or we want to get “backup” from other parents that our problem is also their problem.

School is stressful enough. Don’t add social media peer pressure to your stress level just because it’s in a WeChat group.

KEEP READING: Indoor Fun: Sharpen Your Imagination at the Imaginarium Zone

Images: Unsplash, Cindy M Jenkins

When you’re a parent, it can be difficult to remember that you were once moody, non-communicative, and rebellious for the sake of being rebellious. On the other hand, when you’re a kid, you can’t even begin to imagine the sheer magnitude of your parents’ love and the fact that 99% of the annoying things they do are simply an expression of that love, no matter how misguided it may seem.

Simply put, being a parent is no easy task, and yet being a teenager is no cakewalk either. So when you throw the two of them together, you’re in for a clash of epic proportions.

In an effort to help keep the peace, and give teens a safe space in which to share their frustrations and concerns while improving their relationship with their parents, Xiaojie Qin, Founder and Director of CandleX, a local mental health services provider, launched an initiative with two of her teen-interns called Letters to My Parents.

We spoke with Qin about how Letters to My Parents got started, the importance of such an initiative, and how folks can get involved.

Xiaojie Qin

Tell us a little bit about CandleX.

CandleX was born on April 1, 2015, in Beijing. We offer mental health support, in English, to teenagers and adults living in Beijing. Expats and Chinese nationals are all eligible to receive this support. As an English speaking Chinese national, with personal and professional relationships in the expat community and substantial international travel, I found it difficult to identify with the Chinese mental health services available. I was searching for mental health support that utilized a more Western cultural approach. This search did not yield any positive results and I concluded that the English-speaking community in Beijing lacked both social and clinical support. This realization inspired me to fill the gap, and I soon after founded CandleX, with the aim of providing mental health support in English. Our mission is to provide English speaking people in Beijing with affordable, accessible, and quality mental health support.

How did the Letters to My Parents initiative get started?

We have a program called Mental Health for Teens, and there are usually two or three teen-aged interns on our team. In the past, they were doing very repetitive, easy things like maintaining our website and our WeChat. But last year I had two newcomers, one who is the president of a psychology club in the international department of her Chinese school, and another who is studying media work at his international school. I started talking to them and discussing work that we could do together, exploring ways to support teens with issues.

Eventually, we decided that one of the things teenagers struggle with is communication with their parents. Either their parents are too busy, or there’s tension that can be improved if they had opportunities to share with each other what they feel or what they’re experiencing. So we thought we’d see if we could do open letters. By that I mean it can be anonymous, and the letters will go to their parents, or they don’t even have to show it to their parents, but the letters will be published through our WeChat and our website.

So really the goal of this initiative is to create a space for teenagers to have a voice, and have a channel for them to express what they’re dealing with to their parents. We just shared the first article, but we’re hoping to have two articles a month, to generate more readers from the parents’ side. Also, teachers and counselors will be able to read these letters and receive the teenagers better.

You mentioned that CandleX has teen interns and that you wanted to create something driven by them and for them. What exactly has their role been in shaping this initiative?

Each intern is different, they might have different interests or different skills, some are good at video editing, some are good at coming up with content, some are doing psychology. So the idea of creating something with the teenagers is always a brainstorming session to identify their interests and their needs. The process is just me facilitating, having conversations, and seeing what’s feasible.

One of the interns has been doing support letters among the students in her school, so we said, ‘Ok, is there anything that we can do that’s beyond just supporting each other?’ And we definitely saw an issue of parent and child dynamics. So just through conversations and through brainstorming, we came up with this idea.

They will be able to advocate for their friends and classmates on campus and hopefully will keep the letters coming.

What kind of response have you gotten from both parents and teens? Is this something people are eager to participate in? Have you gotten any pushback?

It just started, but so far we’ve got really good feedback. I haven’t had a chance to interview the parents yet, but from what the students themselves have said to me, it has really improved their communication and their parents were really surprised to read the letters, and that it’s somewhere that they could start more conversations.

What does the participation process look like? Do teens need their parents’ consent before they write the letter? How is it presented to their parent? Is there a chance that a teen could write a letter, but a parent could refuse to look at it?

It’s anonymous, so anyone can submit their letters. The teens on our team will guide them if the participants don’t know what to write about. They will also review the letters and give feedback. We have an editor on the team to do the final editing as well.

These letters are published on our social media, website and WeChat accounts. It is possible, in the future, that some teens won’t want to present it to their parents directly, and we don’t make it mandatory that the teens show these letters to their parents. The idea is to post them online so it brings attention to all parents, not necessarily just their own. Some kids might find it hard to present the letters directly to their parents, but writing them down is the first step, and we can take baby steps.

How can people get involved in this initiative?

Read them, forward them in parents’ groups, teachers’ groups, or really any groups that work with teens. It’s an awareness-raising project, so it begins with just reading the letters.

In the future, we hope to bring this offline, having open stage talks, workshops, and presentations, discussing various parent/child topics with parents on one side and teens on the other, answering the same question.

To get in touch with CandleX, visit their website, or scan the QR code above.

Photos: Pixabay, Courtesy of Xiaojie Qin & CandleX

My name is Finn Todd, a Beijing City International School (BCIS) graduate of 2018, and I grew up in a school at which both my parents taught, one an art teacher, one a primary school principal. I went to the same school for 13 years, with both my parents at the school throughout that whole time.

My experience was mixed, although mostly positive for a number of reasons. First of all, the obvious one — seeing your parents every day at the place when most folks are free of that was an odd feeling. Knowing that whatever I did could be reported to them at any point simply because the other teachers were their friends. I never really got into much trouble at school, so I never had too many awkward interactions, but knowing that other teachers knew so much about my private life compared to other kids was definitely a strange experience. However, this meant I spent a lot of time around teachers from an early age, meaning I grew up having to be good at small talk and develop the skills to have more grown-up relationships, even to the point where I am now (as a graduate) good friends with a few staff members, some of whom even taught me!

Finn with mom, dad, and sister on graduation day

I would seldom directly be in contact with my parents throughout the school day, as one was not a teacher and one only taught me for a total of just under a year and a half, meaning I didn’t really have to worry about any awkward encounters of any sort. When I was taught by my father, the age old question kicked in — do I call him Dad, or by his surname? I just settled for an “err… so”, and then would say what I needed; problem solved.

Another factor was that they also knew of all school events, which was in fact a blessing in disguise, reminding me of where I needed to be and when, as well as signing any form that needed signing before I even knew it existed. They’d also show up to my sports games and musical performances, something that unfortunately a lot of kids wouldn’t have been able to say at that age. They were very supportive and involved in the community, which meant I was as well.

When I got into high school, the most daunting situation for any high schooler arrived — dating. With the lines blurred between personal and school life due to my teachers basically being an extension of my parents, I couldn’t get away with anything without them finding out. Because of the strong school-wide grapevine, I just decided to approach that topic head on, and thankfully my parents have always been good and open with me, so it turned out not to be too much of an issue, so long as I didn’t muck about in class!

My unique situation meant that my friends knew my parents well too, and even students that I didn’t particularly know too well would talk about my father with me (in an extremely positive light, don’t worry Dad). At times it felt like I was the Vito Corleone to their Michael; if you’re my mate then you’re in that world, you have to face the same non-existent personal-school divide as I do.

My parents would do their best not to bring work home with them too, but we did have a rule; what’s said at the dinner table stays at the dinner table. It was their chance to vent about work and obviously some of those times it would concern people I knew, either teachers or students, but I knew we were coming from different points of view and most of the time I knew a fraction of what they knew about whatever drama was occurring that day. They were always very professional, and to be fair to me, so was I; I wouldn’t bring up things I shouldn’t with the people that I shouldn’t, even if I knew more about certain situations than either my classmates or my teachers.

Overall, while I may occasionally have come into contact with awkward or unwanted situations, my experience as a teacher’s child in school was overwhelmingly positive, and that’s completely down to the way they raised me and my siblings.: being heavily involved in the community, meeting far more people than most students, and developing social skills that have helped me immensely.

Photos: Finn Todd