This means that the article might be better for enticing people to become a teacher than the advert because it makes the reader feel more informed about what they are letting themselves into, both the negative and positive aspects are reviewed and not just the positive like in the advert.
However the article does not contain information for wanna-be teachers like the advert does. It doesn’t have any pay expectations or what you have to be like to do the job, what A-levels you need or anything like those. Whereas the advert is far more informing in this sense, because it is intended to include and broadcast this info to any people who are looking at the profession as a possible career. But then again the article is not intended to do this. Gemma Warren usually publishes part of the Educational Supplement in a mainstream newspaper like the Times, which is for the more serious and intellectually motivated than The Daily Star or the Sun even. Intellectual members of society like teachers would therefore buy and read this newspaper and just like Financial advisers read the economic pages some teachers will always read the educational supplement. This is not intended as an advertisement but as information for already employed teachers, how they are not alone in their experiences, other teacher’s opinions upon changes in the system and other such material, all designed to support teachers and appeal to them not to necessarily attract new people to the profession. This support for the already qualified teachers being the key focus for the article can be shown by the passage opposite the World in the title in the bold text down the center. At the end of it, it says – “be assured, you have made the right decision” which after discussing some of benefits and draw backs of the profession illustrates how the article was generated to appeal to already qualified teachers.
The language differs greatly between the pieces. The advertisement is very matter of fact and the information is very concise and not up for debate. It uses phrases such as “you will” and “you start” both of which I talked about earlier appealing directly to the reader to get their attention and to get the person thinking about what it would be like to be a teacher from their prospective.
The piece warns you that “you’ll soon leave behind any old notions about teaching” which wipes the board clean for this advert to then have an even greater influence upon the reader. The advert is very keen to stress how you can mould the career around yourself to suit yourself and your lifestyle – “you’ll start with professional training designed to fit the way you live your life” this is important because no new students want to commit themselves to a 7 day training regime, and this prevents that problem.
In comparison the article leaves the thinking open ended as it describes some of the feeling, experiences and emotions this one teacher has come across. It is far more humored as well, over exaggerating the good and the bad points so the definitions of what is enjoyable about teaching and what is not are easier to see. This humor over even the negative aspects means to show the reader that the job is not bad because event he negative aspects are not so bad. The way its language is set out through out the piece is significant. In the center it has large bold writing, which sums up the overall message of the article, how teaching is the best job in the world. This is then surrounded by evidence both for and against this argument within the text as it demonstrates the opportunities, experiences and affects of this choice of career.
One of the largest differences between the pieces is how the article is on a far more personal and sensitive level. It discus’s the emotions involved within the career and how personally who may change. Like how you may be served by your own pupils in Sainsburys and how from supporting a family in crisis to admiring someone’s new shoes on different levels you must obviously be more than a machine like the advert portrays. The article is therefore more in touch with the less important factors in a teacher’s life like the fatigue, marking and other such repetitive parts of the career, which they still have to take into account.
What the advert does do successfully is give the form of employment status in the mind of the reader. It uses powerful imagery and wording to stamp an imprint directly onto the reader upon how important the profession is not only for the reader, but also for the pupils and the people that benefit from the profession in anyway. Its this increased respect from the text the advert gains which makes you see the career as a more demanding and influential one that you may have once thought. This is demonstrated by the final sum up phrase – “Teaching is the ultimate profession, because without teaching there are no other professions”. This is very close to the ideas I have already expressed, that teaching is given a tremendous status in the readers mind. Which is a very powerful advertising because it influences the reader and gives them a new insight into the profession and because the information is so strong it also disproves any “previous notions” that one might have about the career.
To conclude I can decide which of the two pieces acts as a better demonstration towards showing that teaching is a career worth doing. The article and the advert both achieve this, but from different directions using different methods and to different extents. Overall I think the article written by Gemma Warren is better at broadcastings this proposition. In my opinion the article is more reliable and I would take into account what information it has given me, because it written by an experienced teacher who has ridden the roller coaster of teaching as a career. It is equally inspirational as the advert, but highlights more than just the opportunities and advantages of the career. It goes far deeper than the advert, highlighting both the positive and negative aspects of the career, although portraying the negative aspects in a light hearted and positive manner, making the career seem not so bad at all.
The article is also a lot more sensitive towards human emotions and the little things we enjoy in life which have a part in this form of employment. This also includes such things as personal benefits and personal development, for both you and the pupils you will have to interact with. Because it is more in touch with the reader and not so imposing it appeals more and therefore makes teaching worth considering as a career. It is well balanced and gives you a good insight into what you could expect when entering the job.
The advert lacks in being balanced in showing the positives and negatives of the career, but we must take into account that the advert was designed this way to stimulate people and leave them with no primarily doubts over whether or not this is an option for a career, so they could go onto research the career themselves and evaluate in far more depth. The advert however is very clever in the way in which the images relate to the text and is very inspirational, which again works well with the reason the ad has been generated – to stimulate people. This is demonstrated by the use of flame in the images. The empty match refers to you as a teacher and whether or not you could be this match, alight and able to light the imaginations, and the full potential of the pupils under your care.
