When did you start working Alia?
2012
Tell us about something interesting you did in class.
One of the things I enjoy about teaching at Alia is the opportunity to make learning interesting and responsive to the students in the room. A question or comment from a student can sometimes lead to an unexpected but really worthwhile discussion, while still building on what we are learning.
Across English Language, Legal Studies and Psychology there is plenty of scope for discussion, debate and looking at what is happening in the world around us. I particularly enjoy helping students make connections between what we are studying and their own lives and experiences.
What do you enjoy about teaching your subjects?
I like subjects that involve people, ideas and discussion, which probably explains why I have ended up teaching the subjects I do.
I particularly enjoy seeing students become more confident in their own thinking. I don’t necessarily want them to agree with me, or with each other. I want them to be curious, ask questions, challenge ideas and gradually become better at explaining what they think and why.
What do you like about working at Alia?
The relationships.
I’ve worked at Alia since 2012, and what has kept me here is the opportunity to really know the young people I teach. Small classes and flexibility allow us to respond to students as individuals and create an environment where they can feel known, supported and engaged in their learning.
Student wellbeing and positive education have been important parts of my work for many years. I am particularly interested in supporting young people who have found school difficult, struggled with attendance or haven’t necessarily flourished in more conventional educational settings. This interest has also shaped my further study, and I am now a qualified and ACA-registered counsellor.
Peggy, my accredited therapy dog, is also part of my work with young people and is a familiar presence at Alia. She has a rather remarkable ability to connect with students, although she remains considerably less interested in VCE assessment than I am.
Alia gives young people space to be themselves and to develop relationships with adults who genuinely know them, and I think that matters enormously.
What do you get up to with your time outside school?
Family takes up a good deal of my life outside school, as does ongoing study. I enjoy bike riding and reading, and have accumulated far more books than I have room for, although that doesn’t seem to stop me acquiring more.
I’m also very interested in wellbeing, counselling and education, although I’m not entirely sure that counts as a hobby when I seem to spend so much of my spare time studying them.