Great Scot September 2019 Great Scot 157_September 2019_ONLINE | Page 39

What inspired you to become a teacher?
I took quite a circuitous route. After I
finished high school, I wasn’t sure what I
wanted to do, but I knew I liked literature
and humanities, so I started an Arts degree
at the University of Melbourne. At the end
of my first year, I transferred into Media and
Communications; and then, once I finished
that, I went back again to study Law. I spent a
couple of years working at a large commercial
law firm and realised that it wasn’t for me,
so I returned to study again to complete my
Master of Teaching.
Looking back on it now, it seems like a
logical place for me to have ended up. I love
learning (which is probably why I’ve spent
so many years studying!) and education was
very important in my family. My parents both
studied as mature aged students when I was
growing up, and both eventually became
teachers after having other careers. My closest
friends are also teachers, and I guess it was
only a matter of time before I joined them.
What are your roles at Scotch and what
do you enjoy about your work?
I am currently Acting Deputy Head of
English and teach a combination of English and
Drama. I also coordinate our Year 12 English
course and assist with our Drama productions
and the Drama Immersion Program.
What I like most about my job is that I get
to interact with people every day. When I was
a lawyer, I spent a lot of time behind a desk
communicating with clients over the phone or
by email. In the classroom, I get to work with
some wonderful young men who constantly
surprise me and challenge me, and make
me laugh. I also enjoy being able to work
with my colleagues in the English and Drama
departments, who are some of the smartest
and most generous people I know.
What student expressions of growth
impress you?
It’s always nice to look at my class lists at
the start of the year and see some students
who I’ve taught previously. I’ve taught about
half of my current Year 12 English class before
– some as far back as Year 7 – and it’s great
to see how they’ve grown and changed since
our paths crossed previously.
I see the same thing in our school
productions, where we get to watch students
grow as performers from year to year. A
student might have had a small role when
Interview:
JAMES KEARNEY
English and Drama teacher
he was in Year 8 and then end up in a lead
role when he is in Year 12. It’s great to see
that progression, and to see the students
rise to the challenge when they’re given the
opportunity to show what they’re capable of.
What is your favourite place at Scotch?
I love the Geoffrey McComas Theatre. I’ve
been around theatres all my life, and the GMT
is an incredible space for the students and staff
to work in. I particularly enjoy the atmosphere
down in the Crucible before a performance.
There’s a lovely energy in the room as the cast
starts coming downstairs in costume to get
their make-up done. There’s been a tradition of
one of the crew boys writing a riddle up on the
whiteboard and there will usually be some kind
of pre-show playlist going.
During our Senior Musical, Fiddler on the
Roof, we had a lot of Hamilton singalongs
featuring both students and staff. And then
everyone would start gradually heading
back upstairs to finish getting ready for the
performance.
What advice would you give to Year 12
students as they leave Scotch?
I would tell them that it’s OK if it takes
them a while to work out what they want to
do. Sometimes I worry that students feel
pressured to finish high school with a clear
idea of what they want to do for the rest of
their lives. Sure, a lot of our students do know
what they want to do when they graduate, but
there are also many students like I was at their
age, who don’t have a clear career path in
mind, or who will find that their chosen career
path isn’t what they expected.
I’d encourage them to try different things
and focus on what they want to do next, while
they work out what their life after Scotch
might look like in the longer term.
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