[A blue screen appears with text that reads ‘Subject Matters: A guide to teaching in Victoria. Vodcast hosted by Gorgi Coghlan’.]
Gorgi Coghlan, Host: Hello and welcome back to series two of Subject Matters a vodcast that aims to share all you need to know about teaching in Victoria. I'm Gorgi Coghlan. I'm thrilled to be hosting again, I'm a former secondary school teacher with a passion for science and storytelling. And throughout this series, I'll be joined by some incredible inspiring guests who are at the frontline of the education profession. We're going to chat about all things teaching, including the benefits of teaching in Victoria, the various routes into the profession, and how you yourself can make your mark as a teacher.
Gorgi: Welcome to episode six. Today we're tackling the question, how do teachers make an impact beyond the curriculum? We'll be chatting to Victorian Education Excellence Award winners Rachael Gore and Daniel King to discuss how they've made an impact on the lives of others. And we’ll also chat about various activities, programmes and opportunities that a career in teaching can bring. Rachael and Daniel, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us today. And if we could start off by going through what you've done in your career and what's brought you to this point.
Rachael: My name’s Rachael Gore. I’m head of mathematics, at Albert Park College and leading teacher for numeracy. This is my eighth year at the college now and previous to that I was heading in a very different direction. Before going into teaching I had completed a Masters of Physics at Melbourne University, and was looking at either doing a PhD in nanotech or heading into defence. But during my master's I was lucky enough to teach some first year physics labs and I found that I was leaving my research lab to go teach. Last year I was lucky enough to be in my seventh year of teaching to be an award recipient and from that it's opened up a whole other world for me to go into various professional development opportunities within education.
Daniel: My name’s Daniel King, and I teach mathematics and chemistry. I’m the head of mathematics and the Numeracy Learning Specialist at Lowanna College in Newborough in central Gippsland. I'm in my fourth year of teaching and I'm a career changer as well. I changed the across from a background in industrial chemistry. I actually got into teaching through master teaching through organisation called Teach for Australia. They helped me out a lot and enabled me went to study and teach at the same time. And that was an opportunity that I thought was great, I took it up, and got me to where I am now.
Gorgi: So you both felt that call and you both felt that sense of, I don't know what it was, I feel like I'm home here. I'm just passionate. I'm going to be my cup full rather than my cup drained. What is, if you could distill it, your favourite part of teaching?
Rachael: The classroom. It has to be the classroom because that's where you’re with the kids you're seeing, you're introducing them to the intellectual complexity of humanity, you're basically showing them that we are standing on the shoulders of giants and you are taking the next step. So let me give you where we are currently, and it's now up to you to launch us forward. And they make you laugh. Every single day I get to laugh. They’re cheeky, they're funny, they're charismatic, and it's just such a varied profession that no days the same. There's no real repetition in your work because you never know what's gonna happen in the classroom. But that's what makes it special.
Daniel: I think I have a similar feeling around that, but I might extend it. For me, it's working with people, whether their students or teachers, or members of the community, I’m very passionate about equity for all, and for me the public system embodies making quality education, and I'm passionate about making sure that every student, every child has access to high-quality education, no matter what their postcode is, no matter what their socioeconomic status. And for me, making sure that we have the best teachers and best people working in the public system is a great way to do that.
Gorgi: Let's go to your awards that you've both won. Congratulations. Tell us a little bit about the awards and what they mean to receive them.
Rachael: So I was a recipient of the Outstanding Secondary Teacher for the Victorian Education Excellence Awards. So that's an annual award last year it was the 20th anniversary of those awards. And with that comes a grant for additional professional learning. So $20,000, which is a significant sum, and it has allowed me to pursue additional opportunities within my career that I would never have been able to fund to myself. So this includes things like a Master's of Education, completing a diploma of positive psychology. I’m engaging in additional school visits around Australia. I have been attending numerous conferences such as Women in Leadership in the Mathematics Education Research Group. And most exciting surprisingly, has been the ability to engage in the Teacher Excellence Program, which is an inaugural part of the academy a new branch of professional education for the department where I've been able to meet educators from all around Victoria, across all sectors, even the opportunity to participate in the guiding coalition, which means that we're looking at what public education could be in Victoria in the next five, ten, twenty years.
Daniel: I won a similar award, but mine was the Early Career Secondary Teacher Award, and similar grant, the $20,000 grant, I’ve put that towards a series of professional learning. So taking up some professional certificate of Advanced Educational Leadership through a university in the United States. So yes, that’s through Harvard University, and getting into that course has enabled me to sort of better understand how to lead others and work with team members and has, I guess empowered me to move into role of learning specialist, and leading a team of teachers at my college.
Gorgi: Just listening to the application of that grant and what you're doing with it is so exciting for you as teachers. That’s one thing to get the award, that's beautiful to get the plaque. But to get a grant that then allows you to keep developing and capitalising on this enthusiasm is just fantastic to listen to.
Daniel: For me, the nomination alone was incredibly humbling, let alone, well receiving the award and winning the award. It was fantastic to have the recognition of my peers for the work that I've done. But I think it's also important to acknowledge that it was not just my work, it was the work of myself and the team of people I worked with, they helped coach and mentor me to get to the place that I was and without the support the other people that I worked with, I wouldn't have been where I was.
Gorgi: So did you students know that you had won that award? And what did they say to you?
Rachael: It was announced to the school newsletter and suddenly I had students, I got to see really quickly who was reading the newsletter regularly, and then it sort of spread throughout the whole school. He was like oh Miss, did you win an award? Did you get best teacher? I said, oh maybe. And they said, I’m going to work really hard. And it was just so cute because it gave them, I think when teachers are acknowledged for the work they do, it establishes student trust, and students realise, oh, actually, I've got this opportunity here. And I'm now willing to step forward and take that opportunity.
Gorgi: That's right, and hard work is recognised and that’s where awards are so important. They’re so important for our school community and our students. But they’re so important for our teachers. Rachael you lead a team of 30 teachers in the mathematics departments. So, what what do you love about that sor of extracurricular role?
Rachael: I love the passion of mathematics teachers. I think you're just a bunch of nerds and it's great. You know, we’ve all got, you know on open day I wear a rubik’s cube hat and we welcome everyone to the school. And we’re just really passionate about getting kids having fun in the mathematics classroom.
Gorgi: If you can make maths fun, you have won. You have won. Like, that’s it. You can rest.
Rachael: That is it. And then during the plebiscite, I was running the Safe Schools Coalition Victoria Diversity Club, which is part of ensuring that students who might be same sex attracted or gender diverse have a safe place in between schools. And I was able to sit with students and hold space for them during that really challenging time for their own well-being as the country was debating their rights to have equal partnerships. And that was a really formative experience for me personally, it was really a privileged experience to be able to keep a safe space for these students who are incredibly vulnerable time in their life.
Gorgi: Amazing, because I'm going to ask you the exact question, how else do you think you impact kids away from the classroom and curriculum that's such a wonderful example of giving them that space to feel that they're being seen that they're being heard, and you find that Daniel as well, if you can take the academic teaching hat off, is it the connection with kids too, that just really lights your fire as a teacher? What's rewarding about that?
Daniel: Absolutely. Those relationships are the foundation of what we do, and building relationships with students and getting to know them and them getting to know a bit about you, which I think is as equally as important. That’s one of the fundamental parts of what we do, and it’s one of the most rewarding parts of what we do. I've had the experience where students have come back after they've graduated and visited and had a chat with me about what they've done in their life after they left school and, and that's really, really warming too, to know that they still remember you, that you must have had some positive impact on them to want to come back and share with you apart of their lives after school.
Gorgi: Oh, hello, they’ll both be naming you as their favourite teachers well into their 60s in their 80s. Where do you see your careers going in the next five to ten years?
Rachael: I've been lucky enough to be an early career leader. I've been lucky enough to teach senior very senior subjects early in my career as well. And now I'm really passionate about teacher education. I'm passionate about the profession. I'm passionate about helping people grow within that space and helping people see the joy of teaching the joy of the classroom.
Daniel: I’ll be staying at my college for some time yet, which I'm very happy about because I love working there, I love the people I'm working with. So I guess my plan for next few years is staying on where I am leading my team leading my students and helping to develop and grow school improvement and beginning to build a community of practices with other schools nearby.
Gorgi: Well, Daniel and Rachael, congratulations on everything that you have achieved in your careers, you're still both so young to achieve so much. And it's just been really, really fascinating to listen to today. Very, very lucky students and school communities that have you both and we look forward to seeing what next five to ten years and beyond bring the both of you.
Well, that brings us to the end of today's episode, thanks for watching Subject Matters. And for more information about teaching in Victoria, and why it might be the right career for you. Visit vic.gov.au/ teachthefuture. See you next time.
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