June 04, 2013

Why I like School Teachers.




The year? 1979.

Scene? The outer western suburbs of Sydney.

Occasion? I was starting big school.

Emotional state? Ecstatic!

Yes I remember it like it was just yesterday. I made the walk to school with Mum and my siblings. My shoes were shiny and stiff. And when my eyes fell on my new teacher, I instantly fell in love.

Miss Babos. She was tall and pretty and reminded me exactly of Agnetha from Abba.


She spoke softly and never yelled. She was the perfect kindy teacher. And of course, because I was the tallest, you can find me in the back now, right in the middle looking like a stunned mullet.
We would work hard all morning and after lunch, we all pulled out these little mats and had a 20 minute nap to refresh ourselves for an afternoon of art, craft, dance and music. 

Could you imagine someone insisting you have a little siesta every day?

Why, I just didn’t appreciate it at the time.

The only thing I didn’t like about Miss Babos was that she chose me to be the Donkey in the end of school Nativity Play when I really wanted to be the Angel. That role went to one of the little blonde cuties. But I did like the fact that she recognized my balanced personality. (Even if I was a boy…..)


The thing about my primary school time is that I could name every teacher I had through to year 6, all those years ago. Here is me rocking the 2nd grade with a haircut that looks like a sloth crawled up onto my noggin, found a comfy spot and fell into a deep, deep sleep.

Can you guess where I am?




The little girl in the front row, the one with the ribbons? Well her parents owned the corner store and I desperately wanted to be friends with her as to share her bountiful lunches. But she was not having a bar of me.

My year 6 teacher, Mr. Holloway was a tall, lanky sort of a bloke with a very quick temper. He would call us doofus and dunderhead, while occasionally throwing chalked up dusters at us. But he was fun. He wore a big hat every day, a bit like Bob Katter’s hat, and would drill us on mental computation until our brains exploded.

Years and years later, I got this in the mail.


I had managed to convince my university to put me in charge of children learning stuff! So I ended up being a group of kindy kids version of Miss Babos, in 1995. Except I was way more inept having just turned 21 and had started seeing a strapping young man whose surname was Woog…..

Teachers are a special breed. Their dedication, care and commitment always astound me. I quite often go past the Woogettes School on the weekend and the car park is full with teachers having meetings or preparing lessons. Sometimes I wonder if they realize the lifelong impact they can have on a person.

I know they have certainly had an impact on me.

Do you know an exceptional Primary School Teacher?

OfficeMax is on the hunt for Australia’s most dedicated primary school teachers!

Ten of them from across the country will be recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty, and rewarded them with a surprise event, $1,000 worth of OfficeMax arts, crafts, stationery and office supplies and an Apple iPad for their classroom.

Anyone can nominate a primary school teacher by visiting adaymadebetter.com.au

Entries close 14th June!

Do you remember your kindy teacher?




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