A job that changed me: I was teaching in a juvenile detention centre when a repeat offender’s poetry moved me to tears

‘Making a late career change reignited my passion for work. I wish I’d done it sooner,’ writes Ralph Jackman. Composite: Supplied/Guardian Design

“Those who can’t, teach,” is the most unjust professional putdown. Unfortunately, it was true in my case. I’d lived a childhood dream for 25 years, as a sports reporter and producer in Australia, London and New York. When I moved back to Melbourne from the United States with my family in 2017, I started a media production company with an old friend. Had it been successful, I never would have entered a classroom again.

But our company went belly up after 18 months. I was 51. With two young kids and a hefty mortgage, my wife suggested it might be time to revisit the idea of teaching.