Living / teaching in Australia - Newcastle NSW

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 bouldery bits 27 Jun 2022

Hello all,

An opportunity has arisen for me to try my hand at teaching in New South Wales from January and I'm open to the idea.

I already teach in the UK (Primary) and love to surf, climb, run and wander. From my brief online research, Newcastle seems a good location for some of these things. 

I would love some UKC perspective on this if anyone has any experience!

Thanks,

BB

 Tony Buckley 27 Jun 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

I have no experience whatsoever.  But as the saying goes, better to regret something you have done, etc.

T.

 mike123 27 Jun 2022
In reply to bouldery bits: I’d say theres every chance the school is quiet rough / challenging / whatever the current in vogue term is . As Newcastle has a reputation as one of Australia’s rougher cities . How you  view this of course depends on what your back ground is and where you’ve taught and what you want  . My youngest s current teacher would get eaten alive in such a school but you may well not . I’d say as a male  primary teacher with s bit of effort you could probably get a job in cushy school in Sydney’s northern suburbs. I know which I’d take .  I also know that a  few years ago the federal government had a scheme where if  you taught in a rough school in the sticks  for two years you were granted residency and could then stay for good . Well worth considering if that’s what you might want to do .

 JRS 28 Jun 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

I did a teacher exchange in 2000 going to teach in a state secondary school in one of the prosperous northern suburbs of Melbourne for a year. Even then it was like stepping back in time, a bit of an eye opener and definitely challenging.

About a third of the kids in Australia go to independent/private schools, the state schools pick up the rest. The staff at my school were all very pleasant but the attitude was very much “You’re on your own mate, get on with it”.

One of the first lessons I had was with an A-level equivalent IT group where some of the students came in and promptly started to climb all over the furniture while others banged their heads against the computer screens. WTF!

It took a while to get the hang of things but I was certainly shell-shocked at the end of some weeks. The long drive out to Arapiles, or the Grampians, on a Friday evening helped to reduce the stress levels and the weekends made things seem worthwhile though.

Things might have changed since then and primary schools might be different. Loved the lifestyle and my advice would be to go for it and make the best of it.

 Lurking Dave 28 Jun 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

I visited 'Stralya 18 years ago - I'm still here

Newcastle is a big post-industrial town that had a bad experience when the steel industry contracted but has been re-inventing itself in the last decade. 

Surf and beaches in general will blow your mind. 

Social and political situations will feel somewhat familiar (e.g. parliamentary system) but also utterly bewildering (state vs state for control of water, bogans, indigenous relations).

Post any questions or DM if there are specifics.

LD

OP bouldery bits 04 Jul 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Thank you very much for all replies. Useful info and much to ponder! 

BB

 Graeme G 04 Jul 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Different time (1994), different location (rural SA).

I spent a year teaching in a small rural town in SA. I found the kids to be very different from my experiences in Scotland. Far more confident and outspoken. A bloke who started same time as me had come from rural Victoria. He said he’d never experienced kids as challenging, nor a management team so unsupportive. He hated the school. And he was Australian! Important to note this was not his experience from other schools. 

I found it to be a very difficult year. Isolated, limited things to do on a daily basis and a very different culture (very blokey).

That said, I wouldn’t change it for the world. All the locals were unbelievably generous and took us to places most Australians have never seen. On our holidays my wife and I travelled extensively. We’ve probably seen more of Australia than most Australians.

Go with an open mind and be prepared to adapt and learn. It’s an amazing country, with so much beauty.

Post edited at 09:44

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...