The Early Years

These were generally spent growing up in West Sussex, wandering around fields and fighting for survival amongst the menagerie of dogs and other animals my mother kept (still keeps!). The time in the fields, working in the horticultural industry in my village and working voluntarily in the garden of an old lady in the next village developed my interest in plants. When my school years had passed at 16, I was split between becoming an accountant (the council had heard that I liked maths) or going to work on a horticultural nursery. The plants were calling…

I went off to Hertfordshire to study a B/TEC ND in Horticulture, a sandwich-year course. For my year of work experience I was exiled to the flat-lands of Lincolnshire, living amongst vast cabbage fields, working in glasshouses. The ND led me on to working in Germany for a couple of years, to work in immense glasshouses of pot plants. Now I liked plants, but it was all becoming a bit too commercial for me. I wanted to know more about them and the world around me. It was time to go back to University…

I arrived at Nottingham, still with the aroma of sauerkraut in my nostrils (which is delicious, by the way!). A BSc in Environmental Science developed, where I realised just how embroiled in deep physics the world was. However, this was lightened by a voluntary year spent in Zimbabwe, working on a project to build a horticultural nursery for producing fruit trees (and travelling around to see such a fantastic country, recent developments withstanding). At the same time, I worked voluntarily with 4 primary schools, both in the Uk and Zimbabwe, getting them to know about each other. I enjoyed this work, and the seeds between education and me were sown, but not quite ready to grow yet…

Post BSc, I spent some time working out how to put my interests together. This was spent working voluntarily at a Development Education Centre (at a Botanical Garden - a great location), working with local town garden projects, and doing research work at my previous University. The following Autumn, I moved on to begin an MSc in Kent, studying development issues. An intense year followed, that took me to Spain for my research project and led on to a year in Mexico, researching ethnobotany in a Mayan Village in the Yucatan Peninsula, recording their medicinal uses of plants there. I had met one of my ambitions in life in Mexico with the work I did. But what is life without unfulfilled ambitions? When I had begun my work there, I knew I would inevitably return to education, but teaching it this time. I also realised that the bank wouldn't support me any longer at the rate I was going, so various matters led me back to England to cultivate those seeds sown in Zimbabwe…

The following Autumn, I embarked upon a PGCE - jumping into the deep end of education. I then began teaching in Primary, which is such a vast and busy area that it feels as though I have been on an intensive course since. I'm still there, with ideas. We'll see…

A few years on and the ideas are still there, just waiting for the ideal time and opportunity to burst out. The school garden is growing. The chess tournament is battled out most years. My interest in maths has developed into being a Leading Maths Teacher for the county. Now having worked with years 3, 4, 5 and 6, I'm getting the hang of Key Stage 2.

To be a successful teacher these days involves a lot of continual hard work (note - which does eat up the holidays!) However, that's part of the job. To be a teacher that I aim for - well, that involves yet an extra push. Inspirational, Off-The-Wall, Foolish - call it what you will. I've come so far yet still have a long way to go... I'll send a postcard.