DO I STAY OR DO I GO

DAMIAN WHITE PRINCIPAL OF SCOIL SHINCHILL, KILLEIGH, CO. OFFALY AND IPPN BOARD MEMBER

If you strutted around St. Pats, Mary I, or any other training college dressed in old army fatigues, straightleg jeans and incongruous looking cowboy boots, listening to The Clash on your clunky Sony Walkman pounding ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’ into your defenceless ears, the chances are that, if you have not done so already, you are considering again the question posed by the screaming Mick Jones and his band of young punks in their 1982 double A-side release.

If you went by the strength of its use in a Levi’s 501 ad. campaign in the early 90s, and loaded your honeymoon suitcase with skinny jeans from an American outlet mall, the song and its question might also be floating in your head as we approach the final stretch of another school year. Mind you, as I discovered, Levi’s 501s weren’t designed for everyone and the other song on the double A-side - ‘Straight to Hell’ probably reflected my efforts to look cool and modern as the shiny new principal in the school where I still work almost 30 years later!

By the way, if you wore white socks, grey shoes, shoulder pads, legwarmers, black leather boots with tucked in jeans and blow-dried hair with a nod to George Michael or Princess Diana, you needn’t deny that the question posed hasn’t at least entered your head.

Retirement is a green hill, initially far away, but the longer we are in the job, the quicker it comes upon us. Hopefully the hill is still green as we approach its base. One college friend, who led his school wonderfully for 33 years, shared a photo of himself at the foot of Mount Errigal on the day we returned after Easter, his first day of retirement. Errigal isn’t green but it is probably the more beautiful for it.

For some, who have worked through in the teaching profession without career break, job share or other interruption, 35 years’ service arrives in our mid 50s and the option to retire on slightly reduced pension feels like a game of snooker you have won, but there are still balls on the table to be potted. Many people will have paid into an AVC fund, which allows them to make up the difference in their lump sum to what they would have received had they continued to work for 40 years tax free, with an exit tax on the remainder of the fund when cashed in.

For those who have interrupted their career to travel or work abroad, rear their family or whatever, it is a good idea to look in good time with a financial advisor as to what the options are. For most teachers, Cornmarket will be a place to turn, though there are an increasing number of advisors for employees in the education sector approaching retirement.

For many principals, the job has been so intense that retirement brings with it both a welcome relief from the daily challenges and a nagging worry as to how to adjust to the new life chapter. Everyone has a different story, and circumstances will direct how time is spent, or what is one’s focus post school. Because my wife and I are at a stage where some of our dearest friends (I deliberately didn’t say oldest!) have silenced the alarm clock and parked the chalk, conversations often turn to what life is like on the other side. One friend, who was principal for 32 years in a wonderful 4-teacher school, said that the nicest change in life is how he and his wife can take an hour for breakfast, in their case after a brisk morning walk around Lough Boora parklands.

For some, there is the prospect of working as a substitute teacher without all the extra responsibility of leading a school. While there is a teacher shortage, this will be an option. Others may take work in areas where their rich array of communication and HR skills will be valued. Many will be occupied with family issues, babysitting for their own children, or supporting elderly relatives. Some will become enmeshed in the workings of voluntary organisations. There is a danger that some will end up in more stressful work in the voluntary sector due to an incapacity to be a little selfish with the time they have worked so hard for to free up. Personally, I’m not ready to retire just yet, but my alarm clock is looking at redundancy options. When I do eventually go, I might look back through my record collection again, for quieter, sweeter and calmer music. Perhaps it’s ironic, but 1982 also saw the release of German Eurovision winner Nicole’s A Little Peace. That, at the end of the day, would be nice and it is something I wish for all the wonderful principals and Deputy Principals handing over bunches of keys at this term’s end.

If you would like to get in touch with Damian about this article, you can email him at damian.white@scoilshinchill.com