“It’s not my fault…” A very common phrase in this day and age… So, who’s fault is it? I realise, that portioning blame does not help anyone get anywhere, therefore, perhaps the better question is, “Who is reposnible?”. Taking responsibility for one’s own actions seems to become more of a rarity every passing day.

Since when is the government in charge of your learning, job, wellbeing, welfare? Schools were formed to give an education, so why do schools have to be responsible for raising children when this is something that parents should do? Since when is it ok to blame someone else for your own short fallings? Are the migrants really taking your job when you’re not actually willing to do that job in the first place?

I know it is a very unpopular point of view to voice in the UK but nothing, NOTHING will get better in the job market, education system or the nation if people do not take responsibility for their own fates. Yes, I agree, that there are many people out there who are in dire situations through no fault of their own. However, there are plenty of people who are UNwilling to make an effort, work hard and accomplish anything themselves as well.

I may be young but I have seen all sorts of people throughout the years. It is not finances that stop children achieving the best they can, but the attitude and support at home. You do not have to be rich to encourage your children to do the best they can. I have seen parents who use the excuse “well, she acts up if I ask her to read”, when reading should be done daily at primary school. Who’s the adult here? How can that even be an excuse? I may be a science teacher, but does that mean I will accept that my child does poorly in history or blame the teacher when my child gets a bad grade? I am not able to give my child the answers to a geography, English literature or art homework, does that mean I will allow them to make excuses that they son’t know the answer when the internet surrounds us?

Basically, it just frustrates me, how many people just sit on their backsides, blame everyone else and never take responsibility for themselves. Only you can better your own situation. Others may try to help you, but if you are not willing to pull your own weight, they will soon give up on you as well. In addition, others will be more willing to help you if they see you are putting in effort as well.

Look around you! THINK, how can you help yourself, before blaming others for your situation?

I have recently embarked on the CIPD Level 5 HR course. Although, I currently work as a teacher, I am hoping to move up the ranks into higher leadership roles which will require significant HR knowledge. I also feel this course will give me a good skill set for multiple opportunities outside of teaching if I decided that the education sector is not for me.

If you would like to know more about the essence of me, please refer to my previous post “Who?” on the blog but this post is going to focus on my professional experiences and opinions.

I was born and raised in Estonia and completed all my formal education there. I did live in the UK between the age of 6 and 9 which accounts for my excellent English language skills and I have been back in the UK since 2014, having married an Englishman.

I have always been very work orientated. I tutored younger students while I was doing the equivalent of A-levels. I worked part time the whole way through my university studies and even when I first moved to the UK and was waiting for my education documents to be verified I looked for employment even if it was part time, low paid and irrelevant to my formal education.

I do not have a lot of direct HR experience but I have previously worked as a floor manager at a restaurant, where in addition to serving customers I was required to train and induct new staff, report on their progress, and help figure out ways to better our customer service for the benefit of the company. I also often found myself being the person trying to balance what the owner wanted and what the staff could realistically do. I enjoyed the mentoring aspect of my work and believe I was a good tutor, however, I was doing a degree in chemistry and didn’t even consider what the line of HR might have to offer. I really liked the playing with atoms and molecules part of my studies but I soon realised that I was not going to become a scientist. Nonetheless, as I wanted to continue playing with atoms and molecules, I figured, what better way to do so than to teach the future generations how to do so. And that is how I ended up a teacher.

Now, having been a classroom teacher for a few years, I will be starting my first leadership role in September and will hope to progress further in the coming years. I am hard working and punctual, I have a can-do attitude and will never leave anything that can be done today for tomorrow. I am very opinionated and am not shy to voice those opinions but I love discussing opinions and hearing what other people think to find the best way forward. I hope this course will give me the knowledge and skills to be a fair HR professional, balancing my personal drive with the reality, opinions, and expectations of others. I also hope that the knowledge I gain from the course will give me confidence to take on ever more challenging roles as I progress in my career.

 

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I was asked to write a short article to describe myself for the school magazine that I work at. It was actually quite an interesting task and instead of going the more creative routes of “Letters to your teenage self” or “Desert island disk”, I decided to try to fit my essence into all of approximately 350 words.

Who am I? A question which I’m sure millions of people ask themselves every day. I realised at a young age of about 9 that my first answer to that would be, “I am an Estonian”.

So, who is an Estonian? To understand the essence of being Estonian we have to first look back in history. Estonia was one of the last corners of Europe to be Christianised and this didn’t happen until the early 13^th century. Even so we remain one of the least religious countries in Europe. We have been claimed to belong to many nations, occupied, deported and whittled down to 100000 people. Today there are only 1.3 million Estonian citizens, 30% of whom identify themselves as being of a different ethnic origin. So there aren’t many Estonians to begin with. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

52% of Estonia is still covered in forest, woodland and marsh but 97% of the country is covered by 4G internet. Skype was founded in cooperation with Estonians. Those who enjoy classical music may know Arvo Part. We hold wonderful Song and Dance Festivals with 25000 singers and 7500 dancers (these started in 1869 and prevailed even through Soviet occupation). We celebrate Midsummer’s Eve with night-long bonfires, where lovers go looking for fern flowers (FYI, ferns never flower) and we have our own version of Halloween 6 months later but we only celebrate the witches. Saunas are held on a regular basis and no clothes are usually worn. However, men and women tend to go in separately. Birthdays, weddings and even funerals are treated as an opportunity to gather with family and friends.

Having said all this, the average Estonian will appear completely miserable to the outside observer. Estonians have been called rude and curt but we just don’t speak if we have nothing to say. If you need something then just ask for it (the average Estonian hasn’t learned the art of courtesy and small talk). However, this does make us remarkably efficient and resourceful and if you take the time and have the patience to befriend one, you will more than likely have a friend for life.

 

*I take not credit for the image, unfortunately I could not find who the original photographer was.