A New Beginning

Hi and welcome to my first blog post!

This will be an account of my learning, personal and professional reflections and experiences over the next twelve months as I embark on the wondrous journey of transformation from student, to teacher. Having now completed my coursework subjects for the Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning with Charles Darwin University, I am preparing myself for my first school placement with the teacher and junior primary children of Ungarra Primary School and, like anything new, have a mixture of excitement, anticipation, reservation, and fear running through my veins!

Will the kids like me? Will they be challenging? What will be expected of me? Will I make mistakes? Will I absolutely have the time of my life and wish that I'd done this years ago? Who knows!

I believe that all learning, whether it be new knowledge or new skills, is essentially a process of moving from the known, to the unknown - or from your comfort zone, to way out of your comfort zone... To take an abstract concept, and turn it into concrete knowledge and experience, is a process that will inevitably involve the challenge to get out there, try new things, feel the fear and move beyond that which we know to be safe, stable, and secure. So although somewhat daunting, having the opportunity to spend time at a school and interact with the kids and teachers is also an exciting prospect - I will finally be able to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together as I observe and experience the educational philosophies and theories that I have been researching through my coursework, being put into action.

Now back to my placement... I won't lie - I'm a little nervous about it! But if there's one thing that Life's Journey has taught me thus far it is this: nobody can live your life for you. If you want the fruit, you have to go out on a limb. If you want to progress on your own path, there will be times where you must move beyond your comfort zone, trust yourself, and just go for it. I think I'm ready :-)

So stay tuned for the challenges, the successes, and the duds, as I jump headfirst into the Great Unknown and learn how to become a teacher!

Laura :-)