Your Stories

• Alice White, Teacher, Australia

  50 years old.
  I have an English literature degree.  Story after Uni in UK:
  Age 22 – 24: Worked with international students for a christian charity in Brussels.
  Age 24 – 25: Admin for a mental health charity in London.
  Age 25 – 26: Trained as an English teacher and began teaching.  By 30 I was Head of English.
  Age 33: Moved to Australia.  Had to re-submit qualifications and work as straight teacher for a year.  Moved back into leadership for three years.
  Age 37 – 44: Kids.  Worked part time. Tutoring, working in tafe (polytechnic).  Volunteering as toy library president, publicity, fundraising with kinder (pre-school).  Spent a lot of time writing poetry and performing in gigs.  Had poetry published.
  Age 44 – 50:  One year in a private school four days a week.  Moved into Leadership role that have now.  Now feeling that the job has become more data orientated and analytical than I like.  Also very stressful and intense.  I also feel that schools need to change and become more personalised and student focused and less hierarchical.
  I want to be able to focus more on my artistic side.  I am not sure where I am going at the moment!  Thinking of stepping back into just teaching.  May even go part time.

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