A change in career is the fulfilment of a long-held dream for Jane Balchin, who this year has embarked on a school-based teacher training programme at Strathallan.
On leaving school at seventeen, Jane enrolled at Auckland College of Education to train as a teacher of Home Economics and PE. But a dislike of sewing, a core component of the course, saw her switch to study a Bachelor of Arts in Geography at the University of Auckland instead.
After graduating, she worked in the travel industry, travelled overseas and raised a family, and for the last 17 years she has been Strathallan’s Careers Adviser. But despite being immersed in a school environment, the classroom still beckoned. “I had always wanted to become a teacher but circumstances redirected my path,” she says, “until this opportunity came along.”
‘This opportunity’ is the Auckland Schools’ Teacher Training Programme, which combines year-long, in-school training with remote study through the University of Waikato. It’s a demanding course. In addition to the commitments of classroom teaching, there are ten university papers to complete, as well as regular meetings and professional development workshops with trainees from the other 44 ASTTP schools. Trainees also need to complete a 25 day practicum in another Auckland school.
“It’s very full on and the workload is huge,” Jane admits. “So far this term I have spent long days at work and into my evenings and weekends.” But she is “thoroughly enjoying” the teaching and learning, and was not daunted when facing a classroom of students for the first time. “The children are well-behaved and engaged and want to learn, so it makes teaching so much more rewarding and fun.”
Jane is particularly enjoying sharing her love of Geography and Social Science, subjects she sees as having relevance to all students, providing a better understanding of the world and their place in it. “There is great freedom to look locally, nationally, or globally at issues that affect everyone, from climate change and natural disasters to population patterns and public policy. There is not a day goes by when there isn’t something in the news that is noteworthy to take to class and encourage debate and discussion.”
A highlight so far has been taking the learning outdoors with a year 11 Geography field trip to Muriwai to study coastal environments and an AS Geography trip to Auckland city to look at climate and weather. The field trips link the textbook with the real world and provide meaningful case study material for students to use in their examinations. “They’re also fabulous for building relationships with the students,” she notes.
It’s this relationship-building that makes the year-long ASTTP course so appealing. Most teacher training providers offer three 6-8 week blocks of teacher placement in schools, so to be able to spend a full academic year in a school being mentored by an expert teacher is invaluable and ensures trainees are confident and well-prepared as they start their teaching career.
Jane credits Strathallan as being the ideal school to complete her on-site training, praising the “wonderful students and fabulous learning environment” as well as the schools’ strong values and supportive staff.
There is no doubting Jane’s joy in returning to the career she set her sights on as a young girl. “I wanted to do something different and realign myself with my first career pathway and childhood dream,” she says. And as we near the start of term 2, she is a quarter of the way towards seeing that dream realised.
