Great Scot December 2019 Great Scot 158_December_ONLINE | Page 41

What inspired you to become a teacher?
Like so many before me, becoming a
schoolteacher happened more out of good
fortune than good planning. Becoming a
teacher was never really my goal or ambition
but I love working in schools, with young
people and other like-minded adults, and
there isn’t a job I would rather be doing!
I did a degree in Behavioural Science
straight after finishing school, but stopped
studying after my honours year in Psychology
because it was all getting a bit too arduous
and demanding. I thought that getting a job
and working would be easier. It wasn’t! I
then spent a few months travelling around
Australia with a good mate from school before
enrolling in a Graduate Diploma in Education
(Secondary Teaching) rather than face another
year in the full-time workforce.
One of my teaching rounds was at
Swinburne Senior Secondary College, a
wonderful school where ultimately I obtained
my first teaching job at the end of that year.
I worked at Swinburne for almost a decade
and was constantly inspired and impressed
by the students I taught. During that time,
I became the Student Welfare Coordinator
and completed my Masters in Educational
Psychology.
Interview:
NICK CLARK
Senior School Psychologist
In 2010 I tried my hand at working as a
psychologist in private practice, but compared
to the school environment I found the work
lonely and repetitive, and by the end of that
year I had a job back in a school. This job was
at St Kevin’s College, and I worked both as a
teacher and school Psychologist. It was the
perfect mix and I loved the job. I’m essentially
doing the same job at Scotch, and now it’s at
a school I love too!
What are your roles at Scotch and what
do you enjoy most about your work?
I teach one class – Year 11 Psychology –
and the rest of my work is as a Psychologist
working primarily with individual boys and
their families. The schools I have worked
in are very different, but what I love about
my work has actually not varied that much
across these schools. The thing I enjoy most
is learning from the boys. I hear about the
hardships that so many boys and families
endure, from devastating tragedies to the
small stuff, and experiencing these people
grapple with what life has thrown at them
and persevere and ultimately grow is deeply
inspirational.
In the classroom and the broader school
context, I also enjoy being a role model for
the boys. I hope that the behaviour I role
model for them is that of being respectful and
kind but also realistic, in that there is some
reciprocity in how I interact with others.
What is your favourite place at Scotch?
My favourite place at Scotch is in the
Principal’s office. These days I am rarely in
trouble when I’m summoned up there, and I
invariably learn a great deal when I’m in there.
Tom’s chair looks as if it would be comfortable
as well, but it’s too big for me.
What advice would you give to boys as
they leave Scotch?
My advice would be to keep pursuing and
doing what you enjoy, and work to be good at
what you do. Luck does favour the brave and
by ‘brave’ I mean people who do brave things
(even if they don’t feel brave), and by ‘luck’ I
mean where opportunity meets preparation.
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
41