My first-grade teacher, Rubero Ma’am, taught me cursive handwriting. Even today, when someone compliments my handwriting, I think of her.
I completed my doctorate at King’s College London, where I studied the teaching profession—who enters it, why they choose it, and what society thinks about them.
Today, only a very small percentage of students aspire to become teachers.
The EdTech wave led children to spend hours in front of screens, often without meaningful teacher interaction. When the hype faded, many students experienced fatigue from a form of learning that lacked real human attention.
A student once wrote a letter to her primary teacher :
“I will always remember you as the teacher who carried a little girl and danced her heart out during the field trip. The one who stood up for me when none of my classmates wanted anything to do with me. I found the strength to walk into school every day because I knew my class teacher had my back.”
No platform can ever replicate such care.The more technology we have, the more teachers we need.
AI will make teaching aspirational again—not by replacing teachers, but by removing the tedious administrative work that has long discouraged young people from entering the profession.
Free teachers from that burden, and what remains is the purest part of the job, being present with children, connecting with them, and helping them grow.
The future demands better conditions for the teachers we have—and a compelling reason for the best young minds to want to become one.
