I'm Crossing The Ditch - Again!

Last week was the end of Term 2 and my second to last week being a relief teacher before moving back to New Zealand. I have liked having a more flexible working schedule and a greater work life balance - not having to attend meetings has definitely been the highlight! Once I've gotten past the frustrations of no relief being written for me or literally only "kids are working on their assignment", it's been good meeting a lot of new students and learning bits and pieces from different curriculums. Having more time for myself and exploring more of Australia with my fiancé before moving has also been great! 

When I have had relief classes when I've felt void and the kids are working well (basically glorified babysitting), I've taken the time to smash out a heap of blogposts in hindsight from the last 18 months. I'm stoked I've managed to write 21 (now 22) blogposts over the last 10 weeks while relieving. I hated that my blogging went by the wayside last year when I went back to full time after being part time in 2021. There were likely other experiences that I could have blogged about and have forgotten, but I'm happy and proud with what I have posted and hope that I can get a good rhythm of blogging when I get back to NZ.

Teaching in Australia has been challenging. I've felt that the South Australian curriculum is behind the NZ curriculum (a bit of a step back in time). Of most frustration was how normalised and embedded into everyday language was teachers and students calling Health 'theory' and PE 'practical'. This reallllllllly ground my gears. Across all three schools I attempted to shift this language and the way the teachers and students viewed the subjects. It really related back to and reinforced the old school view of HPE. I really hope I never have to have this conversation again, because I honestly and disappointingly just started to give up the longer I've been here!

My next step is going to be a whole new learning journey. We are moving to the central North Island next month and I will be teaching at Horowhenua College. I'm looking forward to a smaller school and being immersed in a school with a lot of culture - watch this space!