When I was a child, my grandmother used to say I’d make a great teacher. She said I had the patience of a saint. She said I was kind, considerate, empathic, and caring. She said these were the skills needed to teach young minds. So, of course, when it was time to consider my options after finishing high school, my top preference was psychology.
Seriously!
I loved my grandma but I really didn’t want to be a teacher. I didn’t know how to interact with kids. As the youngest in my family (including cousins), I had no experience with kids. I had no business being a teacher.
Or so I thought. Fast-forward a few years and I had that degree in psychology under my belt. I started practicing as a psychologist in my first job, which, to my utter disbelief, involved working with children. Although I quite enjoyed the challenge of the job, I knew that something was missing. I explored the option of becoming an Educational Psychologist but was quite limited at the time due to where I was living. That’s when I decided to take the plunge into teaching.
I walked away from psychology (well, not really – the knowledge and skills are so useful as a teacher) and into the classroom. After obtaining my teaching qualifications I knew that this was where my life needed to be.
My Teaching Background
I began my teaching career in a small rural school, with a lovely class of year 3/4 students. From there, I moved to a specialist school, teaching students of all ages (and abilities) from 5-12. After a few years, I ventured back into mainstream schools. Over the course of my career, I have taught all grade levels from K-6 in Australia (that’s ages 5-12 for international readers). I love teaching so much, that I even teach people how to become teachers through a prominent university here in Australia.
People often ask me why I love my job so much. Honestly, the answer is simple:
So what is it about this profession that has me gushing like a teenager in love?
The students, the pay, the work hours, the holidays? Honestly, it’s the students. The students are great. It’s so incredibly rewarding to see that look of satisfaction and pride on a child’s face when something just ‘clicks’ and they finally understand a tricky concept. I also love creating curriculum resources and seeing these used with my students. And knowing that I was the one to teach them a certain concept using a resource that I’d made is just priceless! These are the two reasons I keep doing what I do (and I’ll continue to do so for a very long time).
You can read more about me on the About page. If you’d like to know more about how I create curriculum resources (AKA, the business side of what I do), then send me an email to let me know.
