Dan Brown

What inspires me?

The joy of working with children inspires me. There can be no job better than a job which enables you to see people grow and develop as individuals right in front of your own eyes, and perhaps be influenced for the rest of their lives in a positive way because of something that you have done.

How many people at work can see this happening every day. I would not swap the joy of working with children with any job in the world. I always think back to my own school days. It always strikes me how much I can remember of my life in school. Individual incidents, that might have seemed very insignificant to the teacher at the time, still affect me now. The thought that the children I work with every day may think back with either such joy or perhaps with horror constantly influences the way I operate around school. I am always drawn back to the words of Haim Ginott (1972)

“I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humble or humour, hurt or heal. In all sets it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be exacerbated or de-escalated – a child humanised or de-humanised.”

What makes me me?

I am a very motivated and determined individual. My motivation comes from the love of my job in working with children and in having the chance to influence their lives in a positive way. I am very focused and driven to achieve positive outcomes for students. I try and ensure that any working environment is fun. Fun for staff and fun for students. I have always believed that people are more likely to work hard in an environment where people enjoy what they are doing.