Rtn John Scammell: Job Talk

John Scammell is our newest member. Today he gave us his Job Talk.

He told us he didn’t do well at school. However, as a young man he undertook further studies and, because his ambition was to become an actor, joined what was then a new drama college. The students there were trained not only in drama but also in teaching. When he graduated he applied for both acting and teaching jobs. The first job he was offered was in teaching, so he accepted that.

John became a qualified teacher and taught at secondary schools. He was thinking about applying for a deputy headship when the school he was at offered him the post of Head of its Natural History Centre. This appealed to his love of nature so he took that post and did the job for about four years.

He did become a deputy head after that. He did not like the job as it was mainly management and he found he no was no longer directly involved with the children. At the urging of his wife, Pam, he eventually gave it up even though he did not have a job to go to.

He applied to an agency for work as a supply teacher. They asked him whether he was prepared to teach children with special needs, as there was a shortage of teachers in that area. He agreed and filled a number of posts as a supply teacher before moving to the permanent staff of one of our local special needs schools. He worked for them for fourteen years before retiring two years ago and still helps them on a voluntary basis.

He has a number of other interests. He demonstrated one of them at the end of his talk by playing an instrument which looked like a guitar but was actually a ukulele.

John will obviously be an asset to our Club and particularly its youth work. He was grabbed as a member of the Youth Service Committee a couple of months ago.