From Tradie to Teacher

Thanks to his traineeship at Mount Carmel College, Brayden White, discovered that doing a trade was not the only option for his future like he always thought.

“I always had the idea that I would do a trade after high school but in year 12 I decided I wanted a career change,” said Brayden.

“I wasn’t very interested in doing a trade to begin with, but I wasn’t sure what else I could do,” he added.

Brayden’s teacher advised him to look into PE teaching and encouraged him talk to the current AFL SportsReady trainee who was completing a Sport and Recreation traineeship at the school at the time.

“Speaking to the trainee made me re-evaluate what I wanted to do. I realised that being a trainee at the school I went to would give me a huge advantage because I would know all about the school, I would be familiar with students and know the teachers.”

“Not to mention it would be the perfect way to get an insight into the world of teaching, which could be a career pathway for me to go down.”

Now over 8 months into his traineeship, Brayden is happier than he could ever imagine.

“I think one of the most rewarding feelings about this whole experience is having students look up to me as their role model.”

“Every day, I walk past students that get excited for me to be their teacher for the lesson or just simply they might want to have a chat with me or ask me for advice. These are moments I will never forget.”

“My year 12 Coordinator, Rebecca (Bek) Footner, ended up being my host supervisor which made the year even better.”

 “Bek decided to throw me into the deep end and allow me to take classes to prepare me for my future endeavours in teaching which has been an awesome experience.”

Ms Footner describes Brayden as “bright spark” and a “positive energy” in the school.

“Brayden really relates well to the students and staff. I think this is also because he did attend Mount Carmel, so he has already formed these relationships prior to his traineeship,” said Ms Footner.

“Having Brayden around is wonderful. Having trainees work in the school allows us teachers to bounce ideas off these young bright people. We also learn so much from our trainees as well. Brayden has taught me to delegate in a clear and concise way. He teaches me to slow down and to explain things better,” she added.

As part of his role Brayden helps out with teaching classes, admin duties and has a hand in assisting teachers across the school.

“I basically help out wherever I am needed and this I have noticed really takes the stress off teachers that have way too much on their plate.”

“I also love the fact I get to work with so many teachers because I am learning all the skills and techniques it takes to become a good one.

Brayden has grown to love teaching and sees himself as a PE teacher in the future.

“This traineeship has given me an outstanding insight into teaching which is what I want to study at University. Joining in on excursions, helping out with admin, going on school camps and assisting in taking classes has allowed me to gather the right amount of information to find out if teaching is for me.”

“Without this Traineeship I may have gone down the trade path but now I have found what truly makes me happy.”

DATE: 14th of October 2019

AUTHOR: Marissa Pagliarello

IMAGE: Brayden White