You Don’t Build Credibility with a Canva Post
Nice visuals won’t cover weak teaching.
Twenty years ago, I attended a presentation that changed the way I saw teaching.
It was the early 2000s, and I was just starting out: eager, inexperienced, and obsessed with becoming better. The speaker that day spoke with clarity, depth, and purpose. His command of English was nothing short of expert. His knowledge? The kind that made you want to run to the nearest bookshop and read everything. And as I sat there, captivated, I remember thinking:
“One day, I want to be just like him.”
At the time, all I cared about was improving my craft—working on my English, deepening my understanding of approaches, refining my classroom skills. Marketing wasn’t even a word in my professional vocabulary. The focus was entirely on learning, not selling.
And I truly believe that this focus on growth, not image, is what made all the difference.
But the landscape has changed.
Nowadays, many teachers, especially those going freelance, are expected to be a one-person show: teacher, content creator, salesperson, brand strategist. It’s a lot. And while I completely understand the pressure to promote your services in a competitive world, I’ve also noticed something that worries me.
Some teachers are putting all their energy (and money) into business and marketing courses, while their own English and teaching skills are crying out for attention.
Just last month, I spoke with a teacher who told me her biggest investments had been in online sales and Instagram strategy courses. She hadn’t taken a single language course or attended a workshop since leaving the school where she used to teach—not one session on giving better feedback, designing effective practice, or supporting learner development. And the truth is, she still has a lot of room to grow, both in terms of language proficiency, language awareness, and teaching skills.
That kind of imbalance isn’t rare anymore. It’s becoming the norm.
And here’s the risk:
When marketing takes center stage and teaching becomes the backdrop, we’re no longer building credibility; we’re just building content. We’re no longer developing expertise; we’re designing carousels.
Yes, it's important to learn how to reach your audience. But if we forget to keep growing as professionals, what are we inviting people into?
The most credible teachers I know aren’t the ones with the prettiest feed. They’re the ones who’ve put in the hours, who keep asking questions, who stay curious and committed to their development.
And as I think back to that moment twenty years ago, I realize just how much it shaped me.
The speaker I watched that day? His name was Fernando Guarany.
He didn’t sell anything that afternoon. He didn’t pitch a course or flash a brand. But he made me want to become more. And that’s what great teachers do.
Keep learning, keep growing—and thanks for letting me be part of your journey!
This post took me back to one of the first CPD events I attended. I met so many inspiring professionals there. Fernando Guarany was one of them, and I know exactly how you felt, Sérgio, as I experienced the same after one of his sessions. If memory serves me right, the year was 2015, and all speakers I saw then had one thing in common: they all wanted to support other teachers to become more. They did that by asking thought-provoking questions about materials design and diversity, teacher adaptability, lesson planning, and stressing the importance of taking responsibility for our own development. Today, ten years later, the landscape has indeed changed as a reflection of emerging needs; however, teaching knowledge and skills are just as important. Thanks for sharing these sobering thoughts.