Ian Temple Shirt and sweater TOMMY HILFIGER TM | january/february <strong>2018</strong> 18
Ian Temple It was interesting to note that at every instruction given by <strong>the</strong> photographer to Ian Temple, Ian would act upon it accurately and professionally. It gave rise to some suspicion before Ian was egged on to admit, “Yes, I did some modelling in my younger days!” Ian had modelled for about four to five years <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> age of 17. His fit physique, attributed to hours of squash, primed him for <strong>the</strong> modelling industry. It was no wonder that <strong>the</strong> photography shoot wrapped up quickly as Ian made it all <strong>the</strong> more easier with every pose and shot. He eventually ventured into television commercials. “It was for Black and Decker,” he divulges. “It was for a new lawn mower and <strong>the</strong> commercial was shot in a garden that had just won a national gardening competition, and it was an absolutely beautiful garden. It was a good stint and it didn’t get in <strong>the</strong> way of my studies. If at all, it gave me extra pocket money and I was able to afford little luxuries like holidays and buy nice things.” So, did modelling influence a sense of style in Ian? “The only thing modelling taught me was to never go into <strong>the</strong> entertainment industry. A few people I modelled with did go on to become well known personalities but somehow a career in this field was not appealing to me.” Ian is far <strong>from</strong> home – Sunderland, Nor<strong>the</strong>rn England to be exact. “We have a bad football team but a very good cricket team, which is <strong>the</strong> Durham County Cricket Club. If <strong>the</strong>re’s anything I miss about home, it would be cricket.” Into his eighth year away, Ian has somewhat acclimatised to life in Malaysia and Dubai six years prior. His passion for teaching has somewhat numbed any feeling of homesickness and has him forging ahead with purpose. Born to educationist parents, it never crossed his mind that one day he too would follow suit. With an older bro<strong>the</strong>r who studied accounts management and who has since moved into <strong>the</strong> software management industry, Ian was a little uncertain of his future undertakings. “I won’t say I got into this line by mistake,” says <strong>the</strong> 47-yearold. “I just decided to give it a shot and literally <strong>from</strong> day one <strong>the</strong>re was no looking back!” “The education system in <strong>the</strong> UK wasn’t great in <strong>the</strong> 70s and “If anyone told me in 1993 when I started teaching, that I would be a head teacher, I would have laughed it off. It just hadn’t crossed my mind.” 80s. You sat in <strong>the</strong> classroom for one hour periods, six hours a day. They gave you information and at <strong>the</strong> end of your five years, you sat for an exam and that’s when you discovered if you were really good or not. I found it to be a negative experience because that’s not <strong>the</strong> way I want to learn; I’m a doer. I like to get out <strong>the</strong>re and do things, and what I learn sticks with me.” “I went through my education and as I got older, I started to appreciate it more, especially when I was doing my degree. After a four to five year wait, I did my Masters in Education in Sunderland University followed by <strong>the</strong> National Professional Qualification for Headship a few years later.” Ian was in his first Deputy Headship in a school in Newcastle when he really started to look at how he could make a difference. “My work was concentrated in <strong>the</strong> classroom, but when you can do what you do in a classroom across a whole school, it got me thinking. People will listen to me, and if <strong>the</strong>y do <strong>the</strong>se things that I say, things could get better for <strong>the</strong>m. One of <strong>the</strong> first things I learnt in management was that if I make people’s lives better, <strong>the</strong>n we can make <strong>the</strong> whole place better.” “It’s actually my job to feed information down to <strong>the</strong>m to make it better and not <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r way around,” he explains fur<strong>the</strong>r. Today, Ian continues to teach despite being <strong>the</strong> Principal of Tenby Schools. There’s just no keeping him away <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> classroom no matter how high up <strong>the</strong> career ladder he climbs. A Business Studies teacher for <strong>the</strong> Cambridge IGCSE syllabus, he takes students right through to <strong>the</strong>ir exam year. You would think running <strong>the</strong> school would already take a huge chunk of time but Ian is adamant about getting his time in <strong>the</strong> classroom. “Teaching evolves and it is essential to be at <strong>the</strong> ground level to keep abreast of new techniques and developments in teaching,” he says. “No teacher wants to let <strong>the</strong>ir students down. So, I put pressure on myself to keep up to date. I feel good doing that, as it is crucial to practise what you preach o<strong>the</strong>rwise you could lose your staff ra<strong>the</strong>r quickly.” Is Ian a fun teacher? “I used to be!” he laughs. “I didn’t have a problem when I taught in <strong>the</strong> Middle East but Malaysian children are not getting my jokes. I did manage to get a few 19 january/february <strong>2018</strong> | TM
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