ACT Public Education
with the kids and their families , you have a lot of fun with the high school kids but it ’ s a tricky time for them . Managing that age group is always a challenge and the college kids just love their subjects so you can really talk in-depth and get immersed in your subject . No matter what sector though you can call it lots of things , but you can never call it boring .
When I retired , I picked up this work in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander section ( an area of passion for most of my career ) which I absolutely love . It ’ s been a real delight coming in here and working with an incredible team . The role they play here is critical .
Can you describe your current role ?
When I first joined , ‘ Cultural Integrity ’ was just being introduced , it ’ s about helping teachers and schools to teach with Cultural Integrity , engage with students , families and community and create a school culture of respect . Schools have been really enthusiastically embracing First Nations perspectives . So , we provide resources , ideas for classrooms and facilitate other types of high impact professional learning .
I spent most of the COVID time making several videos with the local mob to assist teachers in classrooms . We did a lot of on country walks , we visited schools doing great things and showed what they were doing . The videos are meant as a springboard for classrooms so teachers can watch and get ideas of what ’ s possible and then make it fit in their school then , if they need it , come to us for further information and assistance .
What have you learnt in your time with ACT Education ?
Teaching is a great career ! The ACT is very lucky in terms of things like the college system , which I ’ m a huge advocate of . We also are a small enough system so we can offer so many tailor-made / cutting edge programs . We are very lucky that people in the ACT value and understand the importance of education , which is really great for the education system . There ’ s also an amazing sense of community in ACT public education , in 35 years you meet a lot of good people !
St Margaret ’ s News 5 July 2021