Are you a city teacher or a country teacher?
I've taught in the city and the bush, so I guess I'm both!
Some people who have lived in the city all their lives almost fear the thought of moving to the country. "I'll be bored!", I’ve heard city teachers exclaim. But replace bored with "time-rich" and you're spot on. There's something special about being rural which only makes sense once you’ve lived there. "But what about my friends?" I found when I lived in the country I saw my city friends more because both of us tried harder to catch-up and I inevitably visited the city several times a year. Conversely, when you live in the same city it can become too easy to cancel that catch-up (because both of you assume you will have another opportunity soon.)
Do you have a habit, mindset or lifestyle that you don’t like but just can’t seem to break or shake? Are you in need of a reset but don’t know how or where to start?
Changing your environment changes YOU.
One extreme example to make a point: During the Vietnam war it's believed up to half of all US soldiers were on heroin equivalents (crudely made local opioids) and, understandably, the US government feared that this culture of drug-taking would return with the soldiers and destroy a generation. The war ended, everyone came home... and... the fear didn’t materialise.
The theory is that the 'cues' which led to the drug-taking in Vietnam, plus the easy supply of opioids, had all been left behind. So the reset was made easier by the changed conditions when they returned home.
Are you thinking about leaving something behind, or breathing new life into your teaching? Change brings change.
There are a lot of opportunities for a life change through teaching in regional NSW - with even more benefits like rental subsidies of 50-90%, annual retention benefits of $5,000, extra personal leave, additional professional development days, locality allowances, transfer points etc. It's pretty cool!
One example:
Mike Sky, Principal at Croppa Creek Public School (Moree district) is keen for you to consider a placement as a STEM/Project Based Learning co-ordinator working across five schools in 2019.
This is a great teaching opportunity!
I am a big supporter of rural and remote schools. I grew up in Wee Waa (not far from Moree). Plus I am passionate about all Aussie kids being trained in critical, creative and design thinking skills and STEM, which is why I try and get to the country as often as possible providing training for teachers.
If you’re interested in applying for this or any other STEM/PBL job and you need some tips, tools, training or teaching resources I'd be honoured to assist.
For teaching jobs in regional NSW, click https://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/find-teaching-jobs/choose-rural
But wherever you teach right now, I truly hope you feel at home
🙂
James Phelps
