Thursday 18 July 2013

The Beginning of the Journey

For the longest time, I have held a deep desire to either own a bookshop or work in a library. I have always been an avid bookworm. My Hubby shakes his head in amazement, at my reading several books in the time he reads one. Not because he is a slow reader but because of my obsession with the written word, especially in novel form. That, and an inability to got to sleep without having read at least one chapter of whatever is currently on my nightstand. Like I said. An obsession.

For the past 18 years and a half years, I have been a classroom teacher. A job I loved passionately for the first ten years, and have struggled to find a passion for, for the rest. My most favourite year of teaching was in 2003, when I worked in a small country school. I was the only year 4 teacher, with a great deal of freedom to plan out the curriculum for that year. We immersed ourselves for a term in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, a term of Treasure Island and a term on the environment. We had rich literature experiences that fired a passion for the written, visual and spoken word in the students.

I have struggled to repeat that experience, as the years go by and the curriculum becomes more crowded, and teachers find themselves time poor for good quality experiences that allow literacy to be enjoyed through many different curriculum areas.

From 2004, I began to realise that I wanted to move into teaching more as a teacher/librarian. But, as life would have it, I met my Hubby, had two children, moved from Canberra to Sydney to Canberra. I have not felt in a position to act on realising the career change I so desperately want.

For a variety of reasons, I now find myself in a position to follow through with that dream and have begun my Masters in Teacher Librarianship.

And - in addition to finding time in my busy life to add in study, in 9 days time, Hubby and I and our two beautiful daughters are heading over to Ottawa, Canada, for a two year posting for Hubby's work.
An opportune time to study and focus on my career change.

We just have to move first!

Hopefully, in a fortnights time, when jetlag has subsided, and I have bought a laptop, I'll be able to begin really investing myself in the new knowledge in front of me.

For now, I am sneaking half hours here and there to read, and start this blog. In between packing suitcases, packing up a house and moving our life to the otherside of the world.

What a journey it is going to be.

Jen

1 comment:

  1. Hi Jen, I loved reading your post! Just wanted to say I hope the move has gone well, my most wonderful friend and neighbour will also be moving to Canada soon (a town near Saskatoon) My family and I would love to visit her when it all happens. Goodluck with all that is going on, Emma (also studying M Ed TL)

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