Primary School,
Australian Capital Territory
Meet Priscilla, a primary school teacher from the ACT with over 20 years of teaching experience. Learn about what inspired Priscilla to get into teaching, her stand out teaching moment and advice she gives to anyone considering a career in teaching.
What inspired you to get into teaching?
I often say I was born a teacher. It was a job I always knew I wanted to do and I had many incredible teachers who were role models for me, whom I learnt from, throughout my years of schooling. I wanted to be a teacher who made a difference to students by getting to know them as an individual, just like many of my teachers who made a difference to me.
As a young child, my holidays were spent redesigning my bedroom to look like a classroom, begging my brother and sister to be my students so I could teach lessons, and developing my behaviour management skills by managing my siblings’ boredom. I vividly remember the excitement I felt having received a chalkboard as a gift for my birthday one year.
Why do you teach?
I enjoy the relationships formed through teaching, with colleagues, students and families. As a teacher, I build strong relationships with these people for a year, working together as a team to support students in all aspects of their learning; academic, social, emotional and spiritual.
I teach because I love learning. I learn more from my students then they do from me. I have learnt to be more compassionate, to see the positives in the mundane, to continue trying despite facing hurdles, and that everyone deserves a fresh start every day.
There are so many aspects to learning which I enjoy teaching and supporting my students with, some of these being developing resilience, teamwork, perseverance and acknowledging and celebrating the achievement of goals, be they small or large. I enjoy teaching students’ new concepts, skills, learning to see mistakes as evidence of effort and encouraging students to challenge themselves.
What’s your stand out/most memorable teaching moment?
Reading class novels to students, having them so totally immersed in the story that they beg me to continue reading, talking about the characters so much that the characters begin to feel like part of the classroom.
Running a senior book club meeting before school on cold Canberra mornings to have book discussions, sipping on hot chocolates and marshmallows, and organising a surprise Teams meeting with the author of the book for the students to chat with (there were tears of joy from many of us).
The moments when students understand a concept, when the light goes on and they say “Oh, I get it now”.
A student who presented me with a daily review he’d made at home (similar to one’s we’d been doing in class throughout the term), having used Canva to make it (which the students know I love and which I’d taught him how to use). There is no greater compliment than this!
What is your advice for new teachers or people considering a career in teaching?
There is never a dull moment in teaching, it is an occupation built on routine and consistency, however no two days are ever the same. One day you might be in the classroom teaching a maths lesson, the next day you may find yourself wearing a bee costume to work to celebrate book week. Another day you might be attending an excursion with a First Nations cultural educator, learning about the Indigenous uses of local plants and sampling lemon myrtle biscuits.
If you enjoy learning, teaching is the perfect job for you. You connect with students by learning alongside with them. Professionally you are constantly learning how to be a better teacher by participating in regular professional development. Socially, you are always developing teamwork skills, learning how to balance the workload with your colleagues and learning to work as a team with your students.
