Educator

When I was 15 or 16, my dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I knew I wouldn't play on the half-black flank for Collingwood, nor bat number 6 for Australia. I said something along the lines of 'dunno, probably be a teacher'. Dad's reply was something like 'don't be stupid, there's no money in it!'

After that, I really didn't think about being a teacher. Until I did. Spending five years as an EFL/ESL instructor lead me to think that I enjoyed teaching and I was ok at it. From Japan, Mel and I headed to Thailand so she could take on a ESL/EFL leadership role at an international school. I was able to find a job teaching Geography at a bilingual Thai school. This was instructive, in that I enjoyed teaching but was increasingly frustrated by what I know recognise as a lack of understanding around pedagogy and educational theory.

From Thailand, we moved to Mel's homeland of New Zealand, where I trained as a secondary Geography teacher. University helped fill in some of the gaps in understanding. Again, I was fortunate to find a position teaching Geography at a large government school in Hamilton, NZ. I spent 5 years at Fraser High in Hamilton, NZ. I worked with some amazing kids and educators. 

From NZ, we moved to Singapore. Again