Aaron Bates always wanted to teach in a remote setting, so when he was offered a position as a Biology, Geography and English Teacher in
Cooktown—his teaching areas in a dream location—he snapped it up. With only himself to consider, nothing was going to stop him starting his teaching adventure.
Moving on your own
Being away from family and friends, he was initially concerned about homesickness. Luckily, the Cooktown community went out of their way to make him feel welcome, so he rarely got homesick.
When he first arrived, Aaron moved in with a fellow teacher from his school. His roommate was kind enough to show Aaron the amazing locations around town and in surrounding areas such as Walker Bay, Archer’s Point, Cherry Tree Bay and the Lion’s Den.
To help establish relationships within his new community, Aaron decided to get involved in sport and started playing touch footy, tennis, volleyball and even netball.
View above Cooktown from Grassy Hill Lookout, Queensland
Teacher support from the community
Aaron had heard different stories about the support available to graduates and wasn’t sure what to expect.
Fortunately he felt very supported by his colleagues and senior leaders during his time at Cooktown. The school’s art teacher became his unofficial mentor, checking on his wellbeing and helping him to maximise student outcomes. Another colleague also helped him to develop his behaviour management capabilities and he would meet regularly with his Deputy Principal.
To find out about the range of departmental support currently available to beginning teachers, check out our
Support for Beginning Teacher page.
Reflections on the experience
Now back in Brisbane teaching at
Burpengary State College, Aaron says he has no regrets.
'I had the time of my life in Cooktown. I made some life-long friends and saw some beautiful places. When I accepted the job in Cooktown, I saw this as an opportunity to fast-track to permanency, which I gained within the first term of teaching so it’s been a win all round.’
Here are Aaron’s tips for starting out as a new teacher:
- Flexibility is essential! It is great to have a plan but sometimes it doesn’t work and you need a back-up activity or two.
- Like many graduate teachers, behaviour management is a developing skill. Complete the
Essential Skills for Classroom Management course. It changed my behaviour management style.
- Learn how to prioritise—sometimes a student does not need a conversation about their academic progress, but needs a check in with how they are going.
- Time management is important, but know there will be long working days ahead and also times throughout the year for you to recharge.
- Say yes to opportunities to develop professionally. For instance, I completed a 15-month mentoring beginning science teachers program, using interactive activities to break common science misconceptions.
Aaron’s final advice?
'There are students all across the state who need great teachers. I encourage every experienced and preservice teacher to consider a temporary or permanent move to regional and remote locations.'