WHY I teach, HOW I got my job, WHAT I am teaching this year.
I am one of the lucky ones. I chose my future career at the ripe old age of 7. I grew up on an apple farm in rural Queensland, and attended a small country school primarily servicing the tight-knit farming community. This school had no more than 25 students in the entire school, during my 7 years there, from Year 1 to Year 7. During my early years, there were enough students to have two classes. The Year 1-3 students were in one class with a teacher and the Year 4-7 students were in another class with the Principal as their teacher. I had the most wonderful teacher. So wonderful in fact, that I decided I wanted to grow up and be a teacher just like her. That was over 21 years ago now, and I have never changed my mind nor have I ever looked back. This teacher was someone I wanted to be. I wanted to make my future students feel the same way she made me and my classmates feel. She was kind, warm, gentle, caring, loving and fun and you always left the classroom at the end of the day wanting more. I couldn't wait to get back for another day. When I got to Year 4, there were only 12 students in the entire school at this point, so we became a "one-teacher-school" and I spent my last 4 years of primary school in a classroom with 5-12 year olds. As a teacher now, I look back and reflect upon how talented my teacher was to keep us all engaged and learning.
My high school years further reinforced my desire to be a teacher. Despite the 2 hours I had to spend on a bus everyday, I loved high school. I had some fantastic teachers who inspired me in their own ways, and I am still in touch with many of them today. I made sure when I became a teacher (FINALLY) to let them know how much of an impact they had on me, and how appreciative I was of the effort they put into making sure I achieved and was challenged. The way those teachers made me feel, like I mattered, was how I was going to make my future students feel. In 2007, I finally finished school. At this stage it had been a whole 10 years since I made my career choice, and I could finally go to university to fulfil my dream of being a teacher. University was the only thing standing in the way of me and having a classroom of my own.
I had to move 3 hours from home, and leave my little country town behind, for my new life in a dorm room at the university, in the city. I was 17, my parents wanted me to stay home for a year and work but I said no (Sorry Mum and Dad!) because I didn't want to add another year to my plan. I had been waiting 10 years already, why on earth would I want to delay this process?! Maybe they thought I was too young because I would have to wait 6 months before I could fully embrace university party life?! Anyway, the next 4 years flew by........
I graduated from university in 2011 and was fortunate enough to land a permanent job straight out of university. How did I come across the job?! Well it all started when I had infected wisdom teeth. The pain was immense so off I went to the dentist. As I was laying on the distressingly hard chair, my mouth wide open, an array of dental tools and fingers in my mouth, saliva dripping graciously out of the corners of my mouth.....looking as unglamorous as ever, the dentist and I got chatting about my ability to speak Italian! He knew of an Italian teaching job going about an hour away from where I was living at the time, and the applications were closing THAT NIGHT. I went home, high on painkillers, and applied....and the rest is history. Now, thanks to my painful tooth extractions and awkward small talk with the dentist, I am about to start my 8th year teaching, at that same school! To demonstrate just how grateful I am to my teeth, for causing me grief at exactly the right moment, for ensuring that I was "in the right place at the right time" and for helping me fulfil my dream of being a teacher, here is a super attractive photo sans all of my wisdom teeth....enjoy!!
During the last 7 years, I sure have taught a smorgasbord of subjects (Italian, geography, history, english, maths, religious education....!) to every age group of students. In reality though, I am a trained primary and middle years teacher, and I specialised in maths and history (and have also completed a Post-Graduate Cert in RE since being employed at my school and this year I'm beginning a Post-Graduate Cert in Maths specialising in STEM subjects). But my place of employment is all about "throwing you in the deep end" and even though I've felt as though I was close to drowning many times, I am thankful for the experience I have received and the courage I have gained by being put WAY out of my comfort zone. So far out, in fact, that at times, I couldn't touch the bottom....I could barely stay afloat. I have learnt that it doesn't really matter what subjects you teach, the basic principles of being a teacher remain and it is the connection that you make with your students and the way you run your classroom, that is fundamentally more important than anything else. Over the years, I believe that I've come somewhat out of the deep end, and most of the time feel like i've got this teaching thing down pat and I can touch the bottom.....at least on tip toes.....! MOST being the key word anyway. Every teacher knows that no two days are the same; some are glorious, some are horrendous....it is what keeps the profession interesting, and makes you want to go back, to see what tomorrow will bring!
As it is currently summer holidays here in Australia, there are still almost 2 weeks standing between me and the new school year. That means 2 weeks to make classroom decorations, create resources, get my head around the curriculum, make sure I have plenty of fun activities up my sleeve and most importantly RELAX, as when the school year starts, I know (and every single teacher on this planet knows!) it'll be at least 45 weeks until I can PROPERLY relax again....45 weeks until I can sleep soundly again without waking up wondering why Mia hasn't been in class for a week, or celebrating the fact that Cooper can now do long division, or making a mental seating arrangement for my class of chatterboxes.....or wondering how I am going to word the conversation with Kelly's Mum about the D she got her her test....When you are a teacher, your students become "your kids" and it is not a job where you "clock off at 3pm", go home and don't think about work until the next day. I think one of the most essential qualities of a good teacher, is having a big heart <3 And if that means spending your night proofreading your students' McDonald's job application, or replying to their distressed email as they don't understand the assignment....then so be it. It's part of being a good teacher. You need to care, and you need your students to feel cared about.
This year I have mostly Year 7 classes, with one Year 8 class, one Year 9 class and a Year 11/12 class. I'm excited about having mostly middle school. I feel like for the first time in my career, i'll be able to touch the bottom, of this hypothetical pool. I'll be in my comfort zone per se, surrounded by excited, eager and spirited pre-teens and teens, ready to dive into the year ahead!
I know it's going to be an energetic year, so I thought i'd create a blog to share classroom shenanigans, resources, funny moments as well as have somewhere to vent during the odd: "Why am I a teacher!!?!? I can't do this anymore!" kind of days....
This was one very exciting moment for me! And I'm hoping that I look a little better than the previous photo! :-)
