Brand Teacher

Teachers think they are one homogenous group – but are they? Parents do not see teachers in the same way. We have labels and descriptions for every teacher based on how we perceive them, on their strengths, talents, abilities, personalities and weaknesses.

In my book, Future-proof Your Child (Penguin, 2008), the final chapter suggests the active development of Brand Family. We urge parents to ask their children to describe them in just three words – for some a scary thought! When a family leaves a Sunday braai, the words we used to describe them when they have gone describe their family brand.

Objectives of the two-hour Brand Teacher workshop

1. Introduce the concept of branding and the importance of developing a personal brand in today’s context.
2. Identify a teacher’s target audiences.
3. Create an understanding of the competition they are up against, caused by the noise of technology and the clutter of consumerism.
4. Understand how as brand is formed by taking them through some processes and games and discussing/workshopping various brands and aspects of branding.
5. Helping teachers to answer a series of questions about themselves to lead them in the process of understanding their own brand, how they are perceived by their target audiences (learners, parents, colleagues).
6. Encouraging them to find ways to bridge the perception gap – how they believe they are being perceived and how they would like to be perceived.
7. Helping teachers to become more conscious of their brand and how to manage their brand in order to:
   • give them a starting point for building their brand in a fast-changing world
   • boost their self-esteem and confidence
   • give them more clarity and focus
   • generate more respect
   • help them to counter parental interference better
   • attract and hold the attention of their target audience
   • become memorable
   • celebrate their uniqueness