So, it has been a while since my last post.
Summer has come and gone, and I have struggled to get ready...
It has not been a restful summer.
For most teachers, summer here is five weeks of winding down followed by three weeks of prep. For me, well... since the flood in April, our house has been chaos. Summer has brought that chaos home on a daily basis. We had our "final" walkthrough yesterday, though the cleanup isn't even close to being done...
But now I need to refocus my energies...
It is easy to get lost in the day-to-day. Still, time is merciless and I am staring the start of term down like an old adversary...
For any readers in education wishing to pursue the same course, be aware: the work is not done yet.
I sent in my visa application last month. I am hoping to hear back soon, as I need the visa number to get my accreditation as well as my working with children check... (side note: I needed an AUS mobile # for the former as well... thank goodness for good connections!). Then I still have to get my housing agreement done, along with my transition plans...
Which brings me to tonight's ramblings.
In almost exactly four months (okay, EXACTLY) I leave Canada. I will inherit a brand new group of students, much as I have every year I have taught. Yes, they will speak the language differently, but I will still have the benefit of starting out with a new group of students because Australia's school system starts in January...
...How difficult must it be for the Australians?
Not only are they picking up a new curriculum, they are stepping into a pre-established classroom with pre-establshed procedures, rules, and expectations. Admittedly I will face the same issue coming back, but I will have a pre-established reputation to build upon. Kylie, my counterpart, has no such safety net. It will be like starting as a first year teacher in a mat leave position...
Of course, at least she already knows what she will be teaching. I still am staring into an uncertain future.
Don't get me wrong: I thrive in this kind of situation. I love the uncertainty. The fact that it is coupled with the security of coming back to a familiar place and a familiar job makes it even more rewarding. Thank you, ATA and NSW, for making this a possibility.
But what about the family?
I am so blessed to have a wife willing to take this kind of risk. Can you imagine what SHE's going through? Not only am I asking her to move thousands of kms away from home, I am asking her to give up everything for a full year... the first year of our daughters' education and her decreased parental responsibilities. She will porentially miss job opportunities, yet she continues to be unfailingly supportive... (yes, perhaps it has something to do with our proxomity to horse/wine country and the beaches near Newcastle, but even so...). What would you do if you had a year in Australia with no responsibilities? She is applying for her accreditation, but really... would you substitute teach or would you do something else?
Then there are our girls.
For those unaware, we have twin girls (K & M) who will turn 5 the day we arrive in Australia.
It is intimidating enough to send one child to school. As teachers we know how important that first experience can be for kids. For us, it is two at once in a school system we don't know... While I believe in the goodness of Australian educators, a part of me is concerned about what my girls will face in kindergarten in AUS. Will they be bullied for being different? Should we hold off on involving them in kindergarten, or will that limit their memory of this grand adventure?
Adventure.
Really, when all is said and done, that is what entire thing is about: adventure.
I am, I guess, an adventurer at heart. I need the exhileration of the unknown to help me ground myself. In Ulysses, Tennyson once wrote, "I cannot rest from travel: I will drink life to the lees: All times I have enjoy'd greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone..." Is it strange that I understand him perfectly? Maybe only we few, we happy few, will ever understand what it is "to strive, to seek, to find... and not to yield".
What are the chances we could repeat this experience in 10 years? Imagine the differences... for my girls as well as me...
Summer has come and gone, and I have struggled to get ready...
It has not been a restful summer.
For most teachers, summer here is five weeks of winding down followed by three weeks of prep. For me, well... since the flood in April, our house has been chaos. Summer has brought that chaos home on a daily basis. We had our "final" walkthrough yesterday, though the cleanup isn't even close to being done...
But now I need to refocus my energies...
It is easy to get lost in the day-to-day. Still, time is merciless and I am staring the start of term down like an old adversary...
For any readers in education wishing to pursue the same course, be aware: the work is not done yet.
I sent in my visa application last month. I am hoping to hear back soon, as I need the visa number to get my accreditation as well as my working with children check... (side note: I needed an AUS mobile # for the former as well... thank goodness for good connections!). Then I still have to get my housing agreement done, along with my transition plans...
Which brings me to tonight's ramblings.
In almost exactly four months (okay, EXACTLY) I leave Canada. I will inherit a brand new group of students, much as I have every year I have taught. Yes, they will speak the language differently, but I will still have the benefit of starting out with a new group of students because Australia's school system starts in January...
...How difficult must it be for the Australians?
Not only are they picking up a new curriculum, they are stepping into a pre-established classroom with pre-establshed procedures, rules, and expectations. Admittedly I will face the same issue coming back, but I will have a pre-established reputation to build upon. Kylie, my counterpart, has no such safety net. It will be like starting as a first year teacher in a mat leave position...
Of course, at least she already knows what she will be teaching. I still am staring into an uncertain future.
Don't get me wrong: I thrive in this kind of situation. I love the uncertainty. The fact that it is coupled with the security of coming back to a familiar place and a familiar job makes it even more rewarding. Thank you, ATA and NSW, for making this a possibility.
But what about the family?
I am so blessed to have a wife willing to take this kind of risk. Can you imagine what SHE's going through? Not only am I asking her to move thousands of kms away from home, I am asking her to give up everything for a full year... the first year of our daughters' education and her decreased parental responsibilities. She will porentially miss job opportunities, yet she continues to be unfailingly supportive... (yes, perhaps it has something to do with our proxomity to horse/wine country and the beaches near Newcastle, but even so...). What would you do if you had a year in Australia with no responsibilities? She is applying for her accreditation, but really... would you substitute teach or would you do something else?
Then there are our girls.
For those unaware, we have twin girls (K & M) who will turn 5 the day we arrive in Australia.
It is intimidating enough to send one child to school. As teachers we know how important that first experience can be for kids. For us, it is two at once in a school system we don't know... While I believe in the goodness of Australian educators, a part of me is concerned about what my girls will face in kindergarten in AUS. Will they be bullied for being different? Should we hold off on involving them in kindergarten, or will that limit their memory of this grand adventure?
Adventure.
Really, when all is said and done, that is what entire thing is about: adventure.
I am, I guess, an adventurer at heart. I need the exhileration of the unknown to help me ground myself. In Ulysses, Tennyson once wrote, "I cannot rest from travel: I will drink life to the lees: All times I have enjoy'd greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone..." Is it strange that I understand him perfectly? Maybe only we few, we happy few, will ever understand what it is "to strive, to seek, to find... and not to yield".
What are the chances we could repeat this experience in 10 years? Imagine the differences... for my girls as well as me...