Primary School,
Queensland
What inspired you to get into teaching?
Back in 2006, I was sitting in my Year 10 studies of society and environment (SOSE) class, faced with a budgeting assignment where my first step was to choose a career path. Prior to this point in time, I had wanted to become a chef, but something in this class inspired me to go with teaching. This was the very first time that I contemplated becoming a teacher and I have never looked back since. I credit much of my decision to my SOSE teacher that year. It wasn’t the curriculum she delivered or the content she taught that inspired me, it was the way she made me feel about learning; she empowered me. Reflecting on my journey so far, teaching might be the profession that creates all others but one of the most powerful things a teacher can do is inspire another.
Why do you teach?
The potential that we have, as educators, to empower others and make an impact on students’ lives is profound and immeasurable. It is this potential that inspires me each and every day. The way a student’s face lights up when something clicks, the way a student is bursting with excitement when they see you out in public, the significance of the connection that we build is why I teach. I am privileged to have returned to the town where I first started teaching ten years ago and every now and then, I have run into a former student. Their reaction when they recognise me is priceless and so powerful.
What's your stand out/most memorable teaching moment?
I was visiting home for holidays and went to the local rodeo. As I started looking around the crowd, I began noticing a lot of familiar faces that were a lot taller than I remembered them being. I had started noticing former students. One of them recognised me, called me out of the crowd, said, “G’day!” and continued to tell me that he had just graduated high school having studied a subject he hated until he had me as his teacher in Year 5.
Have you received a special keepsake from your student/s that you treasure?
In the lead up to our school's 125th Year Celebration in 2022, students were preparing something to be put in our time capsule to be opened in another twenty-five years. The task I had set was for students to identify and record what they liked most about the school, what they wanted to be when they grew up etc. One of my students wrote, "When I grow up, I want to be a primary school teacher. I got the inspiration from my year five and six teacher because he showed me that being a teacher is one of the most fun, amazing and important jobs in the world." Just like that, I had completed the circle. A teacher had inspired me to join the profession and now I had planted the seed for another to follow in our footsteps.
What is your advice for new teachers or people considering a career in teaching?
My advice for anyone considering a career in teaching is simply, DO IT! Like any profession, teaching has its trials and tribulations, but the rewards far outweigh the struggles. Build a strong network and ask for help when you need it. You’re never alone in the teaching profession and there is so much support available. Sometimes, you just need to be the one to identify that you need support.
My second piece of advice is to never underestimate the value and importance of human connection. It is the relationships that you build with your students that will empower you as their teacher and see you making a difference in their lives and being remembered for years to come.
