Starting Out On My Teaching Journey

My teaching career began when I was in grade 2 when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I was in a composite class (Prep - 2) and back in those days the classes were large and teachers had little planning time. My teacher would give me a book so that I could read to the class while she worked at her desk. 

I also have vague recollections of friends and possibly my sister, sitting down while I taught them in our backyard and sometimes at school during playtime, but at that time I did not want to grow up to be a teacher. My heart was set on a more noble profession and I declared to all who asked, that I wanted to be a nurse. Their smiles and words of affirmation made me realise that this was an admirable decision but over the years, it became apparent that I wasn't cut out to deal with blood, guts and gore.

As I neared the end of Year 12 I entered my preferences for tertiary education and wanted to do journalism or teaching if I passed and got into uni. I decided that I also wanted to earn money and become independent so I applied for a job in the bank. I had an interview, sat for an exam and then was given another interview. Everyone assured me that getting an interview that far along the process meant I would be offered the position. A few days before the interview at the bank, I received an offer from a uni to study primary teaching, so I put the offer aside and headed in to the city.

The interview panel were friendly and welcoming and asked me if I had been given any university offers. Naively, I explained that I had but that I wanted to defer and work for a year before I went into teaching. They listened, affirming my choices and a few days later I received the letter saying that I did not receive the job. Lesson learned.

I headed to uni in March the following year, ready to embark on my teaching journey. Dad dropped me off at the train station and after getting off the train a few stations later, I bought a juicy orange and ran to catch the tram down to my new place of study. To a girl who had rarely missed a lesson at high school, who had completed work on time and who had attended a place where all the buildings were placed "in order" and were easily accessible, this was a whole new world!

The most overwhelming thing for me was being given all of my assignment tasks for the year within the first few days of the school year, and having to figure out where the lectures and the tutorials would be held. Lots of student areas were dotted around the campus, I rarely went to the cafeteria and there were large pockets of 'parkland' outside. The parking was abysmal and one of the times that I did drive to uni, I went back after a couple lectures, to find my car had been crashed into, pushed up over the curb and of course, there was no note to inform me who the offender had been.  

The trains were crowded and often late but I learned to 'stand clear' and then jostle with the mob and stand for a few stops until the carriages had emptied of the business men and I was able to find a seat. "Whew! Just in time before the private school students boarded!" I would take a book out and read, surreptitiously surveying the crowd and writing imaginary life stories for my fellow passengers.

This part of my teaching journey was interesting yet uneventful. I love learning and although I found the lecturers had a teaching style very different to my primary school and high school years, I embraced the study and looked forward to the end product of being a qualified teacher.