Hurrah¹, she has finally done it.

好哇，她终于这么做了。

Ten years ago, Lucy Kellaway told me — in hushed tones as though it were a guilty secret — that she dreamt of being a maths teacher.

10年前，露西.凯拉韦(Lucy Kellaway)告诉我——她压低了声音，好像这是个罪恶的秘密——她的梦想是当一名数学老师。

The occasion was my decision to leave the Financial Times to teach English.

当时，我决定离开英国《金融时报》去教英语。

I am delighted that now she too has decided² to take the plunge³.

我很高兴，现在她也决定果断行动了。

I made my career change earlier — in my 40s — but I do not regret it, and I have every confidence that Lucy won’t either.

我改行的时候比她早——在40多岁的时候——但我不后悔，而且我很有信心，露西也不会后悔。

Lucy was not the only one to confess such yearnings: quite a few journalists, I discovered, hankered after a life in front of an interactive⁴ white board and wished they could be as brave as me.

露西并非唯一坦承心存这种渴望的人：我发现，在度过一段整天对着交互式电子白板的职业生涯之后，许多记者有这种渴望，并希望自己可以像我一样勇敢。

But Lucy was particularly sincere and thoughtful.

但露西的渴望特别热烈，并且考虑周到。

Her mother, Deborah Kellaway, had been an inspirational head of English at Camden School for Girls — the actor Emma Thompson named her My Best Teacher in a column for the Times Educational Supplement.

她母亲黛博拉.凯拉韦(Deborah Kellaway)曾是卡姆登女子学校(Camden School for Girls)富有启发力的英语教学主管——演员艾玛.汤普森(Emma Thompson)在给《泰晤士报》教育副刊(Times Educational Supplement)写的一篇专栏文章中称她为我最好的老师。

Lucy gave me some advice about what made her mother so adored: She was open to the girls’ ideas.

露西给我指点了一下她母亲那么受崇拜的原因：她对女孩们的想法持开放态度。

She made them feel clever and original.

她让她们感到自己聪明、与众不同。

It was advice I took to heart and it turned out to be easy to follow.

我把她的话记在了心里，后来发现做到这些并不难。

One of the most rewarding things about teaching is that teenagers really do make original and thought-provoking observations.

教书的最大回报之一，是青少年真的会提出与众不同、发人深思的观点。

Mind you, this might be more of a phenomenon⁵ when you are teaching Charlotte Brontë rather than Lucy’s beloved trigonometry.

请注意，如果你教的是夏洛特.勃朗特(Charlotte Brontë)而不是露西喜欢的三角函数，就更可能如此。

I had been at the FT for 10 years — not a patch on Lucy’s 31 — when I decided to move into teaching.

当决定改行去教书时，我已在英国《金融时报》工作了10年——比露西的31年短多了。

I had enjoyed myself thoroughly⁶ at the paper: my roles had included deputy UK news editor, arts editor and, at the time I left, co-Editor of what was then the Weekend section — now Life & Arts.

我在报社时非常享受我的工作：我担任过的职位包括英国新闻副主编、艺术版主编，离职时我是当时的周末版——如今的生活与艺术(Life & Arts)——的联合主编。

But my fascination⁷ with education grew.

但我对教育越来越着迷。

I became a governor at my children’s primary school and a pupil mentor⁸ at a comprehensive, but it was not enough.

我成了我孩子小学的董事和一所综合性中学的学生导师，但那还不够。

I was mad, I told myself.

我自言自语说，我疯了。

Those teacher recruitment advertisements, full of pupils gazing in open-mouthed wonderment at an enthusiastic⁹ (young and good-looking) teacher, were peddling¹⁰ a fantasy, I said, sternly.

我严肃告诫自己，那些教师招聘广告——上面都是张大嘴巴、好奇地注视着热情洋溢（且年轻貌美）的老师的学生——在兜售一种幻想。

Teaching could not really be like that: just read the headlines and listen to the politicians.

教书的真实情况不可能是那样的：只要读一读头条、听一听政客们的话，就知道了。

In the end, I went to watch some teachers in action — and it turned out that the cheesy fantasy was not so far from the truth after all.

最后，我去观察了一些老师的工作情况，然后发现，那美妙的幻想与现实的距离根本不远。

You really do get golden moments when pupils turn to you agog¹¹ that Shakespeare was really clever.

当学生兴高采烈地过来对你说莎士比亚真聪明，那真是你的黄金时刻。

These are deeply touching.

这些深深地打动了我。

So I wish Lucy — and everyone else who joins her through Now Teach — the best of luck.

所以，我希望露西——还有所有通过Now Teach（现在教书吧）跟她走相同道路的人——一路好运。

It won’t all be Dead Poets Society and School of Rock, but I work with several colleagues who after careers in the City, as investment bankers, consultants¹², insurance brokers¹³ and lawyers, have come into teaching.

不会都像《死亡诗社》(Dead Poets Society)和《摇滚校园》(School of Rock)中的那个样子，但我现在有几位同事，都是在伦敦金融城(the City)当过投行家、顾问、保险经纪人和律师之后，转行教书。

They, like me, enjoy the variety and challenge of the job.

他们像我一样，喜欢这份工作的多元性和挑战。

As one said to me, just the other day, over dodgy staffroom coffee (no more delectable¹⁴ cappuccinos from around the corner, Lucy): I have never worked so hard.

正如其中一人几天前在喝着教员休息室质量一般的咖啡（露西，不再有随手可取的美味卡布奇诺了）时跟我所说：我从没工作得这么辛苦过。

And I have never been so happy.

可我也从没这样开心过。

However, there are a few surprises to look out for.

然而，也有一些惊喜等着你。

Never mind former colleagues thinking you are mad: staffroom colleagues will think you are crazy for giving up a glamorous¹⁵ media career.

前同事认为你疯了根本不算什么：学校教员休息室里的同事会认为，你放弃一份光鲜的媒体工作太疯狂了。

And pupils will think you are utterly¹⁶ barking.

学生们会认为，你完全是精神错乱。

The most humiliating thing a student ever said to me: You went to Oxford¹⁷ and you’re just a teacher? I know that education is the most popular destination for Oxford graduates, but it was little comfort at that moment.

学生曾对我说过的最让我感到羞辱的一句话是：你上完牛津，结果就只是当老师？我知道，教育是牛津毕业生最喜欢的职业选择，但当时我并没因为这个感到一丝的安慰。

Be prepared for the first time you are asked what you do by a stranger at a function: I’m a teacher gets a very different response from I’m an FT columnist¹⁸.

请为如下的第一次做好准备：当陌生人在活动上问到你的职业时，我是老师得到的反应与我是英国《金融时报》专栏作家完全不同。

You think you won’t mind, but you may find that you do.

你认为你不会在意，但你或许会发现，你是在意的。

Lorna Dolan is assistant head of Sixth Form at Sevenoaks School.

洛娜.多兰(Lorna Dolan)是七橡树中学(Sevenoaks School)第六学级(Sixth Form)的副主管