Early Childhood,
Victoria
What inspired you to get into teaching?
During my time as a school student, I was constantly urged to improve my handwriting. Miss Kadam (my English teacher) wasn’t too concerned about my handwriting; instead, she was more interested in the content of my writing than its appearance. She motivated me to strive for excellence. I eagerly anticipated and relished her lessons. She was friendly and interesting and she has been one of the inspirations behind my success.
Why do you teach?
I want to be that person for my students that can be there when they need support. It feels special to me when I enter the classroom and children come to me running and ask me, “where were you, Nidhi?”. In addition to telling my students that they can achieve anything and become anyone they want to be, I also want to demonstrate to them that they can do so through dedication and hard work. For the children in my class, I want to create a safe haven where empathy and teamwork are valued as highly as academic success. I really feel that I can assist students reach their full potential by showing them kindness and understanding. This has been embedded into my routine and is a great reason to be a teacher.
What's your stand out/most memorable teaching moment?
Every moment is precious and full of memories in the classroom. Recently, I worked with a student with a trauma background who had been going through a lot. We used various teaching strategies. It took a while for our team to get there but one day she came up to me and shared that she had noticed 3 big red cars on her way in that morning. That was the biggest moment for me as she normally never talked to any of the teachers.
Have you received a special keepsake from your student/s that you treasure?
Being a teacher, I am very lucky that I always get lots of amazing keepsakes from the students. One of my favourite keepsakes is a special piece of art from my student which was made when I was having a sad day.
Every day we have a mat session where we have a chat and check in with everyone emotionally. As I was missing my family that day, I mentioned that my heart was feeling very sad. One of my students asked me if they could make my heart feel happy. After mat time, we went outdoors and he got me a flower and asked me if I was feeling happy!
