Sixty years in the same career is almost unimaginable these days, but for Alan Jarman, a career he fell into turned out to be one of the most rewarding things he's ever done.
The Blaxland man recently celebrated his 60th anniversary of teaching, and at 77, as along as he keeps well, he has no intention of giving it up just yet.
In his final year at Canterbury Boys High School, in an interview with the principal, a young Mr Jarman was asked if he'd thought of becoming a teacher. It hadn't crossed the mind of the shy, introverted teen, who thought "good teachers were extroverts."
But the school applied for a scholarship for Mr Jarman at Balmain Teachers College, which he dutifully completed. His first job was to run a one-teacher school near Walcha.
"I never had a passion for teaching when I became a teacher but I developed a passion. By the third or fourth year I was developing that passion," Mr Jarman said.
After 13 years of working at one teacher schools, Mr Jarman realised as an adult, he'd never seen another teacher teach, and that it was time to work in a bigger school.
The primary school trained teacher took a six-month position in the deaf unit at Whalan High School at Mt Druitt and ended up staying in secondary school teaching for 30 years.
"I fell in over my head. I didn't know anything about one teacher work, I didn't know anything about high schools. I almost drowned, but by this time I was having a wonderful time teaching," Mr Jarman said.
"Teaching mattered," he said. "I became proud of the fact that I could contribute."
He would go on to become the head teacher of the special needs unit at Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta, but gave that away after a year, preferring to work more directly with students.
Mr Jarman tutors locally and also teaches at North Shore Coaching and Development College, based out of Parramatta, which is primarily for children of migrants wanting to improve their English.
"Teaching keeps you so young in your outlook. I'm about to have my 77th birthday but I don't feel 77 because I mix with kids all day. I look forward to it every week," Mr Jarman said.
"Kids haven't changed, they are still as great as they were 50 or 60 years ago."
