Frankie201803-04

What do you teach? Year 11 and 12 maths and physics. Did you
always want to be a teacher? The implicit message I received
growing up was that I should aspire to something ‘more’ than
teaching, so I ruled it out pretty early. But I’ve always been a
teacher at heart, and eventually figured I’d give myself a break
from trying to solve the world’s woes myself, and try to build
the capacity of students instead, so they can go on to solve
them. What are the biggest concerns school-aged kids have
today? They’re struggling with the dominant and disempowering
narratives of society that tell them a multitude of things, from
the way they should dress, look and treat each other to the fact
they should all know exactly what they want to do with their
lives. This spawns a bunch of other issues, particularly related
to mental health challenges, which are exacerbated by things
such as poverty, family violence and visa restrictions for my
students who are refugees. How do you engage students and
get them excited about learning? I always start the year with
‘about me’ sheets that ask questions like, “What should I call
you?”; “What’s your pronoun?”; “Favourite song?”; and “Who
do you admire?” I try to remember the info, and compile their
favourite songs into a Spotify playlist that I put on when there
are a couple of free minutes. Sometimes I’ll shoot a video of
something I see on the weekend that links to something I’ve
taught in class. What kind of relationship do you have with
your students? It’s not my primary role to be their friend; my
role is to be their teacher. That said, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit
I also want them to think I’m a sick bloke, look up to me, and
ask me for life advice. Do you have any side projects? I’m an
education nerd at heart. I run a podcast called The Education
Research Reading Room, where I discuss various developments
in education research with other educators. I also run a personal
blog on stuff I learn and do in the classroom. Any wisdom you
want to impart on the next generation? I’m striving to convey two
seemingly contradictory messages: that I have high expectations
of them academically, and want them to do their best and
succeed; and that in no way do I consider their performance in
my subjects (or whatever uni course/job they get into after that)
as a reflection of their self-worth. If I can somehow support my
students to strive for the stars whilst simultaneously accepting
themselves for who they are, then I’ll be a very happy teacher.