What's it like to be ... a School Teacher?



The Sassy Schoolteacher

Love 'em or hate 'em we all have memories of our school teachers. I've been lucky, by and large all my teachers were great and had a positive impact on my impressionable youth.  May I introduce you to a real life school teacher who takes her job seriously and probably cares too much for all her kids..
My Vitals
Lisa James
Teacher - Exec Level (3rd in command after Principal, Assistant Principal)
Our Lady of Fatima, Primary School - Sydney, Australia
Age: 39

My background

HSC (equivalent to English GCSEs), St. Patricks College - Sydney then B.Ed (University of NSW, Australia).  After graduating took a position in retail as all full-time teaching positions offered at the time were in remote locations. Got married, had two children and stay-at-home Mum for 7 years.  Took up teaching on a casual basis and then took up permanent position -  teaching now for over 10 years.

What My Head said
Go with your heart, you always wanted to be a teacher. Your path is clear.

What My Heart said

From the moment I started school I wanted to be a teacher.  I fell in love with my Kindergarten teacher- Mrs Harris, who looked like Princess Diana.  Also from about 5, I played "teachers" with my best friend Jade in my room - even to this day Jade reminds me of how strict I was.

What my job involves
The pay is very modest but the hours and holidays (12 weeks per year) are fairly good. Officially my hours are Mon-Fri 8.30am-4pm but generally I'll work longer.  Typically, my day consists of a morning block - focussing on literacy and reading, a middle block - focussing  on numeracy and then a science, history, the environment, language, art or music component and then an afternoon block - religion and sport.

After hours there are parent-teacher interviews and being a Catholic school, compulsory attendance at all Catholic Sacramental Celebrations - Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation, throughout the year.  There are also weekly staff meetings and in my Executive role I'm also required to mentor other teachers, co-ordinate various school programs such as numeracy, reading, and I am also the Special Needs Co-ordinator.  My school has a couple of kids with severe special needs and autism and we have to ensure they are given the right care and attention.

My highlights

The students - their smiles, their cuddles and their comments.  I can't help but smile everytime I hear the words 'oh Miss, I get it' or 'I love you Mrs James'.  Students giving me cards that say I make them want to be a better person is pretty touching and a constant reminder why I do this job.  The day I stop receiving such comments, I'll know it's time to retire.

My lowlights

Dealing with parents and their expectations can be challenging, particularly those trying to live through their children.  Some parents fail to realise their child's potential to make a difference in the world.   Otherwise, it's seeing ex-students at a bar now they are over 18 or worst still, when the pizza delivery kid tells me I was his favourite teacher many moons ago - makes me feel very old.

My mantra

Every single child deserves to have someone believe in them.  I believe that the small things a teacher can do over the course of a child's primary education - beyond reading, writing and maths - will actually help them become the person they were meant to be.

My ideal happiness

Spending time with my family - it doesn't really matter where so long as we're all together.   My most recent slice of heaven was sitting in the kitchen at home laughing with my husband, daughters, brother, sister in law, nieces and nephew. 

My last word

Great teachers teach because they hope to make a difference in a child's life -  they genuinely care and love their students.