In the next few weeks I’ll be celebrating my 55th birthday and I’m deep into my 33rd year in the classroom. As a beginning teacher I always imagined that 50 would and should “see me out.” But now, as many of you would know, the Australian Federal government is going to gradually increase the retirement and pension age. Those born in 1958 and earlier will not be affected … and yes, you’re calculations are right, I was born in 1959!

I want to keep teaching but I can’t imagine doing so for another 15 years. Just last week the Head of History at my school retired at age 76 after more than 50 years as a teacher. I’ve already had back surgery, I have two shonky knees, my hair is just about gone and well, everything aches. In 2013 I worked as a sessional tutor with Pre-Service teachers at the Banyo Campus of the Australian Catholic University and I hope to do so again this year. It was a great experience and I’ve always tried to share my accumulated “wisdom” with young teachers. Earlier this week a member of the school Administration asked me to supervise a Pre-Service teacher for a six week practicum. Indeed, he tried to insist by suggesting that I had a “moral obligation” as an experienced teacher to do so. I refused; this year I’m teaching four very large (I’d argue oversized) senior classes, I have a huge marking load, I’m the school’s Learning Technologies Coordinator and … I’m tired!

Corinne Campbell is quoted in a recent article, “Best Bloggers” from the IE magazine (Issue 1 Volume 44) as believing that “… presenting only the perfect scenario often adds to teacher anxieties … it is really important for all teachers to know that we are all going through the same experiences …” Corinne adds that a teacher’s blog should offer a “warts and all” account. This, of course, is actually quite ironic … warts are one of the few medical complaints I don’t have! Now, this is no great secret but let me say it anyway … the older you get, the more physically and mentally demanding teaching becomes. (PS: Be sure to connect with Corinne on Twitter @corisel or read her excellent blog at aboutteaching.net/)

So you’re asking, what about this “geriatric pirate business” in the title? Well, to explain … if you haven’t already done so, you should read the excellent book “Teach Like a Pirate” by American author and educator Dave Burgess. (Available from Amazon.) It offers teachers a genuine plan to “Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator.” The pirate of the title is an anagram which directs the reader towards the significant aspects of Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Ask and Analyse, Transformation and Enthusiasm. To conclude and “put it out there” warts and all, here for the world to see is my greatest fear. The passion and enthusiasm still burn bright, I wouldn’t have survived 33 years without them. But will these be enough to fight off the ravages of Old Father Time?

NOTE: The pirate name was created by the Pirate Name Generator (http://pirate.namegeneratorfun.com) whilst the photo was created with the “Make Me Pirate” app available for free from iTunes. Perhaps if I started dressing like this for school … the decision when to retire would be taken out of my hands! It’s worth a try.