Learn English – the difference between “being” and “having been” in this context

aspectgrammarperfect-aspectpresent-participles

Being a teacher, she likes children.
AND
Having been a teacher, she likes children.

What is the difference between these two?

Best Answer

Being a teacher, she likes children.

When I read this, I assume:

1) The woman is a teacher. She teaches for a living.
2) She likes children.
3) There is some relationship between her love of children and her profession. The exact nature of the causality is unclear – perhaps she got into teaching because she likes being around children, or perhaps she's grown to enjoy being around children because of her profession. Or maybe the writer assumes that all teachers like children. Regardless of the particulars, though, which are left unstated, the sentence seems to imply that the two facts are somehow linked.

Having been a teacher, she likes children.

This tells me:

1) The woman was a teacher. She used to teach for a living.
2) She likes children.
3) There is some relationship between her love of children and her former profession. Again, the exact nature of the causality is unclear – perhaps she likes children because they bring back memories of her time in the classroom. Nevertheless, this sentence also seems to imply that the two facts are somehow linked.