Secondary School,
Queensland
Meet Margaret, a secondary school teacher from Queensland with 25 years of teaching experience. Learn about what inspired Margaret 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?
When I was a student in Cairns in the 1980s, I had so much respect and admiration for my teachers. I remember those days with great fondness. I knew I wanted to inspire a love of learning in students of the future. Teaching also ran in my family. My grandmother was one of the first females in Queensland to obtain a Bachelor of Science, almost 100 years ago, and she became a teacher! In 4 generations, we now count more than a dozen past and present teachers in our ranks.
Why do you teach?
I teach because I know our young people hold the potential to make a better future for all of us. The students I see in front of me daily are just so curious: they inspire me! It's the Year 7 students who ask a million interesting questions about everything, or my Year 11 students who are inquisitive and driven to succeed. Their collective inquiring minds make the teaching gig so worthwhile; they keep you thinking and wondering and full of awe.
What’s your stand out/most memorable teaching moment?
I recall a moment at a small school I was teaching at in Darwin, it was a Year 5/6 composite class and we were working in reading discussion groups. One particularly clever young man wasn't too keen on our assigned class novel. He pleaded with me to talk about a different book he was reading and wasted no time convincing every kid in that group to get a copy, pronto! It was Andy Griffiths’ The Day my Bum Went Psycho! He had captured the imagination of his small, enthralled audience with talk of a global plot by bums to take over the world. Our hardworking librarian was run off her feet that day, loaning out every book Griffiths had ever written. The influence! Talk about the power of persuasion! This student, who would now be in his mid-30s, taught me about the value and necessity of being flexible and knowing thy student. Twenty years later, I now run a Book Club for Year 7 and 8 students where we don't prescribe a group novel. Every student has their own unique taste in books, so it's an opportunity for these young minds to teach and inspire each other to expand their love of reading. Some of them even love the Andy Griffiths’ Bum Trilogy!
What is your advice for new teachers or people considering a career in teaching?
Teaching is the most rewarding career in the world. You will make your mark on thousands of young minds and shape their futures. And they will remember you, just as you will always remember that one student from 20 years ago. While you pave your own way; working wherever you choose on this planet and discovering unimagined career opportunities, you will also develop working relationships and friendships that will be cherished forever. What a truly special call to action: be that teacher you loved having in front of you at school. No day is ever the same as the last and every day is awesome! Even after 25 years in the classroom, I still aspire to improve and learn. As a teacher, you can be an integral part of our students' future success. Join us!
