寫給凱拉韋和其他想轉行教書的人的話
Hurrah, she has finally done it.
好哇，她終於這麼做了。
Ten years ago, Lucy Kellaway told me — in hushed tones as though it were a guilty secret — that she dreamt of being a maths teacher.
10年前，露西.凱拉韋(Lucy Kellaway)告訴我——她壓低了聲音，好像這是個罪惡的祕密——她的夢想是當一名數學老師。
The occasion was my decision to leave the Financial Times to teach English.
當時，我決定離開英國《金融時報》去教英語。
I am delighted that now she too has decided to take the plunge.
我很高興，現在她也決定果斷行動了。
I made my career change earlier — in my 40s — but I do not regret it, and I have every confidence that Lucy won’t either.
我改行的時候比她早——在40多歲的時候——但我不後悔，而且我很有信心，露西也不會後悔。
Lucy was not the only one to confess such yearnings: quite a few journalists, I discovered, hankered after a life in front of an interactive white board and wished they could be as brave as me.
露西並非唯一坦承心存這種渴望的人：我發現，在度過一段整天對着交互式電子白板的職業生涯之後，許多記者有這種渴望，並希望自己可以像我一樣勇敢。
But Lucy was particularly sincere and thoughtful.
但露西的渴望特別熱烈，並且考慮周到。
Her mother, Deborah Kellaway, had been an inspirational head of English at Camden School for Girls — the actor Emma Thompson named her My Best Teacher in a column for the Times Educational Supplement.
她母親黛博拉.凱拉韋(Deborah Kellaway)曾是卡姆登女子學校(Camden School for Girls)富有啓發力的英語教學主管——演員艾瑪.湯普森(Emma Thompson)在給《泰晤士報》教育副刊(Times Educational Supplement)寫的一篇專欄文章中稱她爲我最好的老師。
Lucy gave me some advice about what made her mother so adored: She was open to the girls’ ideas.
露西給我指點了一下她母親那麼受崇拜的原因：她對女孩們的想法持開放態度。
She made them feel clever and original.
她讓她們感到自己聰明、與衆不同。
It was advice I took to heart and it turned out to be easy to follow.
我把她的話記在了心裏，後來發現做到這些並不難。
One of the most rewarding things about teaching is that teenagers really do make original and thought-provoking observations.
教書的最大回報之一，是青少年真的會提出與衆不同、發人深思的觀點。
Mind you, this might be more of a phenomenon when you are teaching Charlotte Brontë rather than Lucy’s beloved trigonometry.
請注意，如果你教的是夏洛特.勃朗特(Charlotte Brontë)而不是露西喜歡的三角函數，就更可能如此。
I had been at the FT for 10 years — not a patch on Lucy’s 31 — when I decided to move into teaching.
當決定改行去教書時，我已在英國《金融時報》工作了10年——比露西的31年短多了。
I had enjoyed myself thoroughly at the paper: my roles had included deputy UK news editor, arts editor and, at the time I left, co-Editor of what was then the Weekend section — now Life & Arts.
我在報社時非常享受我的工作：我擔任過的職位包括英國新聞副主編、藝術版主編，離職時我是當時的週末版——如今的生活與藝術(Life & Arts)——的聯合主編。
But my fascination with education grew.
但我對教育越來越着迷。
I became a governor at my children’s primary school and a pupil mentor at a comprehensive, but it was not enough.
我成了我孩子小學的董事和一所綜合性中學的學生導師，但那還不夠。
I was mad, I told myself.
我自言自語說，我瘋了。
Those teacher recruitment advertisements, full of pupils gazing in open-mouthed wonderment at an enthusiastic (young and good-looking) teacher, were peddling a fantasy, I said, sternly.
我嚴肅告誡自己，那些教師招聘廣告——上面都是張大嘴巴、好奇地注視着熱情洋溢（且年輕貌美）的老師的學生——在兜售一種幻想。
Teaching could not really be like that: just read the headlines and listen to the politicians.
教書的真實情況不可能是那樣的：只要讀一讀頭條、聽一聽政客們的話，就知道了。
In the end, I went to watch some teachers in action — and it turned out that the cheesy fantasy was not so far from the truth after all.
最後，我去觀察了一些老師的工作情況，然後發現，那美妙的幻想與現實的距離根本不遠。
You really do get golden moments when pupils turn to you agog that Shakespeare was really clever.
當學生興高采烈地過來對你說莎士比亞真聰明，那真是你的黃金時刻。
These are deeply touching.
這些深深地打動了我。
So I wish Lucy — and everyone else who joins her through Now Teach — the best of luck.
所以，我希望露西——還有所有通過Now Teach（現在教書吧）跟她走相同道路的人——一路好運。
It won’t all be Dead Poets Society and School of Rock, but I work with several colleagues who after careers in the City, as investment bankers, consultants, insurance brokers and lawyers, have come into teaching.
不會都像《死亡詩社》(Dead Poets Society)和《搖滾校園》(School of Rock)中的那個樣子，但我現在有幾位同事，都是在倫敦金融城(the City)當過投行家、顧問、保險經紀人和律師之後，轉行教書。
They, like me, enjoy the variety and challenge of the job.
他們像我一樣，喜歡這份工作的多元性和挑戰。
As one said to me, just the other day, over dodgy staffroom coffee (no more delectable cappuccinos from around the corner, Lucy): I have never worked so hard.
正如其中一人幾天前在喝着教員休息室質量一般的咖啡（露西，不再有隨手可取的美味卡布奇諾了）時跟我所說：我從沒工作得這麼辛苦過。
And I have never been so happy.
可我也從沒這樣開心過。
However, there are a few surprises to look out for.
然而，也有一些驚喜等着你。
Never mind former colleagues thinking you are mad: staffroom colleagues will think you are crazy for giving up a glamorous media career.
前同事認爲你瘋了根本不算什麼：學校教員休息室裏的同事會認爲，你放棄一份光鮮的媒體工作太瘋狂了。
And pupils will think you are utterly barking.
學生們會認爲，你完全是精神錯亂。
The most humiliating thing a student ever said to me: You went to Oxford and you’re just a teacher? I know that education is the most popular destination for Oxford graduates, but it was little comfort at that moment.
學生曾對我說過的最讓我感到羞辱的一句話是：你上完牛津，結果就只是當老師？我知道，教育是牛津畢業生最喜歡的職業選擇，但當時我並沒因爲這個感到一絲的安慰。
Be prepared for the first time you are asked what you do by a stranger at a function: I’m a teacher gets a very different response from I’m an FT columnist.
請爲如下的第一次做好準備：當陌生人在活動上問到你的職業時，我是老師得到的反應與我是英國《金融時報》專欄作家完全不同。
You think you won’t mind, but you may find that you do.
你認爲你不會在意，但你或許會發現，你是在意的。
Lorna Dolan is assistant head of Sixth Form at Sevenoaks School.
洛娜.多蘭(Lorna Dolan)是七橡樹中學(Sevenoaks School)第六學級(Sixth Form)的副主管
