Welcome back, fellow teachers and friends! Are you ready to meet the teachers of Teach Starter – part 2?
Not many people realize the reason Teach Starter is so passionate about education and providing quality products to our members – we know first hand how helpful our website is for teachers. We are teachers ourselves!
Last week I took the opportunity to introduce you to a few of the wonderful teachers at our Teach Starter HQ. I hope you enjoyed it! If you haven’t read it yet, get to know the teachers who are the Teach Starter content writers in Meet The Teachers at Teach Starter | Part 1 – The Digital Content Team.
Our other teachers in the office – the Resource Team – are keen as mustard to have their turn and tell you all the wonderful things they remember about their time as teachers!
The Resource Team are the brain trust behind almost every resource you will find on the Teach Starter website.
They work with our talented design team to carefully dream up and cultivate all of the worksheets, games, PowerPoints, templates, classroom theme packs, and gazillion other resources that our members love downloading from our website!
They respond to your requests and try their best to create wonderful resources that meet your needs.
Meet the Teachers the Resource Team
To do their job well, the Resource Team need to understand classrooms and how kids think.
They need to know how to create quality resources that access all learning types, ages, and environments, across all key learning areas in more than one curriculum – not an easy feat!
How do they do this?
Why, it’s easy when you have a team of teachers with the experience they have! We are lucky enough to have Resource Team members in both our Australian and American offices, giving them an amazing breadth of experience.
Please allow me the great pleasure of introducing you to the amazing teachers on the Resource Team.
What type of teaching did you do?
Originally a primary music specialist; then had a business conducting early childhood music classes for babies, toddlers and their carers; then general early childhood teacher. Also taught piano privately for many years.
Where did you teach?
Brisbane and Townsville in both state and independent schools.
What did you enjoy most about teaching?
Making my own resources and coming up with different ideas on how to teach something. Using my skills as a musician to assist learning.
What do you miss most about teaching?
The children. The satisfaction that comes when you know a child finally gets it. Having fun with the kids.
How does your experience with teaching help you at Teach Starter?
Direct experience of knowing what works in the classroom and what kids love doing.
What type of teaching did you do?
ESL, Middle/Upper Primary, Early Childhood (pre-prep)
Where did you teach?
- Busan – South Korea
- Rochedale Early Childhood Center Brisbane QLD
- Graceville State School Brisbane QLD
- Eimeo Road State School Mackay QLD
- Oxley College Bowral NSW
- Moss Vale Public School Moss Vale NSW
- St Thomas Aquinas Elementary school Bowral NSW.
What did you enjoy most about teaching?
Being in the classroom in front of a room full of eager and mostly empty minds, trying to make the best difference in their lives as I could.
What do you miss most about teaching?
The feeling you get when a student has an Aha! moment.
How does your experience with teaching help you at Teach Starter?
I have always had a passion for learning both personally and in my students. I feel this passion guides the way I work here at Teach Starter.
How long were you a teacher for?
I was in the public-school system for nineteen years. Ten of those years I was a teacher. Five of the years I was an Instructional Coach in Mathematics (grades PK-5), and the last four years I was an Assistant Principal.
What type of teacher were you?
I taught 4th grade math and science.
Where did you teach?
I taught in a small district called Del Valle I.S.D. in Austin, Texas.
What did you enjoy most about teaching?
I loved getting to interact with students on a daily basis and letting them know that someone cared!
What do you miss most about teaching?
I miss seeing the excitement on students faces when they learn something new.
How does your experience with teaching help you at Teach Starter?
Because I was actively involved in all grade levels at the elementary school level, I am able to work on content for all levels of learners.
What type of teaching did you do?
Elementary school
Where did you teach?
All over! State schools in Far North QLD, a Catholic School in Hackney, London, an independent boys school in Brisbane and a Cath Ed school north of Brisbane.
What did you enjoy most about teaching?
The everyday with the kids. Showing them through the steps they take in their education. The banter you could have with the older kids. The hugs from the little ones. Then watching them grow up and move through the school.
What do you miss most about teaching?
Probably those interactions with the kids. I also miss de-briefing with other teachers in the staff room or at a social function.
How does your experience with teaching help you at Teach Starter?
I couldnt do my job at Teach Starter without having been a teacher for so long. I was lucky to have experience teaching across the year levels, even high school grades. At TS, this most directly allows me to write resources, lessons and units across the different subjects, for different grades, across the curriculum.
What type of teacher were you?
Elementary school Teacher, Prep, Year 4 and 5
Where did you teach?
Summerland Primary, Auckland NZ. Saint Stephens College, Gold Coast.
What did you enjoy most about teaching?
I really loved getting to know the students in the classroom throughout the year. Something uniquely special about being a Primary Teacher is really bonding with your kids. I loved developing and exercising a sense of humor with the class, which opened up the students who are not as confident in themselves to begin with. It was fantastic to see their personal confidence grow during the year. More often, the quiet kids would show their amazing, crazy side.
What do you miss most about teaching?
I definitely miss interacting with the class and creating that fun colorful environment. You build a bit of a family over the learning year and I always felt motivated to help them be their most authentic selves.
How does your experience with teaching help you at Teach Starter?
In the classroom, I was always trying new resources and learning ideas with my classes. You really learn what is successful and what is not, and why that is the case. It is also great being on the teaching end with all the added pressures and being able to empathize with that, with the thought in mind that you can help teachers who need a bit of help with all the time limits and work commitments.
What type of teaching did you do?
Although I am qualified to teach across the elementary school, I taught mostly in middle to upper primary (Years 3-6).
Where did you teach?
I have taught in independent schools in Sydney, London and Brisbane.
What did you enjoy most about teaching?
As a teacher, I loved seeing my students deeply engaged in a learning activity that I had planned for them. I also loved having thoughtful and engaging conversations with them about topics that we were learning about. And of course, like most teachers, I loved the sense of pride I felt upon seeing my students make truly great leaps in their learning during their time in my classroom.
What do you miss most about teaching?
I miss the relationships that I developed with the children. Also, I often wish that I was back teaching so that I could use the resources and unit plans that I create for Teach Starter!
How does your experience with teaching help you at Teach Starter?
I feel that I have experience from the classroom of what motivates and engages children with their learning. I try to apply this to the resources I create by asking the question: Are kids going to be excited by this?
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