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What inspired you to study a teaching degree?
Teaching gives you the opportunity to impact people meaningfully.
That's a broad statement, but a teacher's impact can often be pretty broad. Schools are communities, and they provide opportunities for teachers to make an impact in different ways.
I think developing students' literacy skills is essential. Robust and multifaceted literacy skills allow people to understand, critically interpret, and communicate information. In a world saturated with many different sources of information, the ability to effectively sort through it all is such a valuable skill. Good literacy skills open doors; they give people opportunities.
I want to help people develop literacy skills so they have access to all sorts of opportunities.
How do you think the scholarship you have received will help you achieve your goals?
The scholarship gives me just a bit more time to focus on my studies. More time means I can probe deeper into research, reflect more on the course content, and produce better work for my assignments. The more time I have, the more opportunity I have to gather and better understand information and strategies that will help me in my career.
Is there a past teacher who inspired you or who you have positive memories of and why?
I had a particularly brilliant teacher who taught me both English and History in Year 12. I remember the discussions in her classrooms were fantastic; she was excellent at engaging the whole class in conversation. Her feedback was very detailed, specific, and prompt. This feedback was helpful because what was expected and what you could improve on was always clear.
Most importantly, I always felt she genuinely wanted me and all the people in her classes to succeed. She put a lot of effort into giving people all the tools they needed to do well.
What are the qualities that you think makes a good teacher?
A sense of humour, patience, and grit.
What advice would you give to anyone considering studying teaching?
Try to get some practical experience as a teacher’s assistant during your studies. It gives you a bit of a taste of what you’re in for without the marking and the lesson planning. Working as a TA also allows you to make connections between theory and practice. It’s helpful to observe or apply the methods and strategies you learn at university to real-life classroom scenarios.
What advice would you give to anyone applying for the Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships Program?
I can’t think of a reasonable reason not to apply. The process has been easy, and the staff has promptly addressed any queries. I’m very grateful for the support this program has provided me.