Secondary School,
New South Wales
What inspired you to get into teaching?
I wanted to be an advocate for students and a teacher who could see the good in everyone. As someone who had a teacher during high school who saw the best in me when I had no one else, I wanted to give back that same sense of care, that same understanding to students who fight silent battles every single day.
Why do you teach?
I am an English teacher and I teach to see the smiles of students who you acknowledge with a hello when they think no one knows their name. I teach to form those relationships with students that allows them to see the bigger picture, the greater good in the world. I teach to be the person students remember when they read an amazing book and think "Mrs Price would have loved this". I teach to make a difference to the students who think they are invisible.
What's your stand out/most memorable teaching moment?
There are so many however there were two students in a Year 12 English class who came from troubled backgrounds. One of the students asked for a reference from me. I wrote an honest reflection on this student which showed that as his teacher I genuinely cared and had the best intentions for him. The thank you cards I got at the end of the year said that "you are so much more than a teacher, you're always there when we are having a bad day and you're our biggest supporter when we are winning at life." That's why I do what I do - I have their back in the good times and the bad. They are both very much winning at life and I am so proud.
Have you received a special keepsake from your student/s that you treasure?
I taught a very quiet student for Year 11/12 English. I always made an effort to talk to him but he wouldn't give me much back. He was very artistic and in one lesson, he showed me his major work for art which was a collection of drawings and paintings of wolves. I told him how beautiful they were and that he should get them framed. Once the HSC was over, he gave me a card which said, "I don't know if you will remember me after I'm gone but I will remember you". He then presented me with one of the paintings. I still have that painting on my wall.
What is your advice for new teachers or people considering a career in teaching?
Teaching is so much more than the classroom and the content. It's about shaping young people to be the very best versions of themselves. You can be the person students talk to their own children about - no other profession can have such a profound reach and such a sense of fulfilment. Of course, there will be tough days but the good days and the proud days far outweigh those. You can be someone's hero every day and those students can sometimes teach you more than what you can teach them.
