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Far Beyond the Norm
Far Beyond the NormNew to the St Luke’s community I have quickly established that there is a lot to learn. This is an area that appeals to me largely as I am an individual who thrives off challenge and will search for opportunities to make learning relevant, inclusive and engaging. My teaching practice is largely underpinned by the notion of exploration through fun and play. This aligns so closely with St Luke’s model of nurturing curiosity. Before I continue to explain what I am most excited for here at St Luke’s, it would be remiss for me to continue without outlining my teaching pedagogy and where I have come from.
About me… I am a passionate educator that emphasises the idea of nurturing curiosity. There is no one overarching way to teach as Einstein famously stated “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Anyone is welcome to come and join my classroom and they will discover is that it is no “generic environment”. In fact, it is utter organised chaos. The classroom is a live space with groups of students set to achieve manageable goals through a range of activities. Students should have a chance to play and explore concepts that aren’t confined to traditional teacher lead lectures. I come from a traditional teaching context where this was very much the focus of the school. Despite this being the school’s intention, it did not stop me from having lessons where desks were upturned and pushed to the sides of the classroom so that students could get up and act or make a rap about a content heavy subject. Overall, this method of organised chaos was not only frantic but it saw the wonderful development of student rapport whereby mutual respect was always at the core of each lesson. I am a qualified Visual Arts, Religious Education and English teacher and I value my place in all three of these subject areas. At times, the skills in each are interchangeable and it allows me to ensure creativity, literacy and God is present at all times. I am also a high advocate for differentiation, particularly in literacy skills. I have worked closely with Learning Support and Diversity Teams to make extension, core, structured and modified tasks for most learning activities. These strategies would of course be redundant without knowing my students strengths which means my ‘organised chaos’ philosophy compliments my passion for differentiation. I am an enthusiastic life long learner and this is present in my enrolment in courses such as my research in Gifted and Talented Students. What am I excited for here at St Luke’s? Collaboration, boundless opportunities, expanding culture and to be part of a revolutionary educational context was extremely enticing. Teachers have so much to learn and quite often this would involve going to Professional Development days whereby other teachers would introduce strategies, activities and programs for successful teaching. St Luke’s is full of professional academics and passionate educators. In light of this, what better way to learn than team teaching. This method of team teaching means that I get to learn from incredible colleagues who consistently offer innovative and insightful ways to make learning relevant and engaging. It is a blessing to learn off one another. Being part of a community that is establishing itself with its expanding School of Entrepreneurs means that there are boundless opportunities for growth. The expanding context of St Luke’s means that I have avenues to utilise my passion in technology, photography and the creative arts in order to develop and be apart of extracurricular activities that nurture curiosity. The revolutionary educational community would not of course be possible without a team of like minded individuals who are confident to challenge the confinements of the ‘norms’ in order to better the education of the individual. Our school is led by innovative, supportive, creative and confident educators that see the value of Jesus Christ in every lesson. In light of the short list of points I have mentioned, it only lends itself to one question. What is not to be excited about?
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