Ben and Tiff Patterson: Teaching in tandem
Toddlers and teenagers have entwined the career paths of married couple Ben and Tiffany Patterson, who share a strong desire to make a difference in the education sector. After becoming parents to daughter Piper last year, they also hope to inspire her th
Tiffany Patterson
IWENT into Early Childhood education because my niece was diagnosed with dyspraxia. It’s a processing disorder to do with the part of the brain that processes language. She also experienced global development delays which meant that everything that she was doing occurred later than in other children her age. She also has low muscle tone.
I grew up with friends whose mothers were preschool teachers and they were always fun. My mum and grandma were also inspiring with their natural ability to work with children. Grandma was in my house growing up and she inspired learning and reading bedtime stories. I’m creative and love helping people. I’m definitely a people-pleaser and always want to help.
It’s about getting down on their level and I did that naturally. My aunty was a preschool teacher and she wrote on my work experience feedback form that I had natural ability. I was 15 at the time. I wanted to work in a preschool and started my Cert III in Early Childhood Education at 19 but had to drop out when I developed severe glandular fever and depression.
I switched to a hairdressing apprenticeship because my mum is a hairdresser and I enjoyed being around her business. Because I was good with numbers, I ended up working in an accounting firm for five years, working my way up through reception, administration and bookkeeping. I left that role but stayed in the accounting and financial sector. Not long after that, I met Ben.
What I love about education is seeing the relationships you build. Getting through to someone, working with children, that’s what kept me going. And no matter how hard your day, you are making a difference in their lives. We develop these relationships with them that I wouldn’t give up for the world.
You’re not their mum but you do get very close to them. When I was teaching full-time, I would even go on holidays and still see things that I wanted to add to the program to teach. You look at different learning outcomes and development and how to do things.
Ben was in his last year of uni when we met and I had just started. In high school teaching, every child has different needs and backgrounds and absorbs things differently whereas in childcare, you have a format that covers everyone’s needs.
We also look a lot at our surroundings and use them as inspiration, such as the weather or a movie they have seen. As a mum now, I have realised that I need to do more intentional education with her. When she was little, I used to read, sing songs, do counting and listen to music. But when she became mobile, everything changed!
At work, you make a portfolio of everything a child does, but at home, you don’t do that as much.
On paper, Ben and I are very different. I am religious, he’s not. I went to a private Christian school, he went to public school. I grew up on the Northern beaches, he is from Western Sydney. I have four siblings. He and his brother were raised by their mum on her own. But we are only six weeks apart in age so we are familiar with the same pop culture.
Ben and I are both very open with each other and have the same desire to help others. We also want to help each other and are really connected in that way. We are a team in that we understand each other. We’re also both very sensitive and care deeply about people and the community. We have very similar values. More than anything, we see behavioural trends and social issues that weren’t around when we were kids. In that regard, we are both mandatory reporters if there is anything we observe that is wrong. Even when Ben was finishing his degree, I could see how important it was to him and that he wanted so badly to be the best teacher he could be and help as many people as he could. There are people who get into teaching for the holidays or other reasons but Ben is different. He made the change to work in special education which I think has been the best decision because it’s about building relationships. He shares his interests with the students and that inspires them. Ben originally wanted to be a film director and his first degree was in electronic arts. It’s funny how things work out because he’s a great teacher.
Ben Patterson
TEACHING was actually my back-up plan. I was looking at it as a Plan B. There will always be a need for teachers and it’s a good job to fall back on. I tell the kids that it was peer pressure because all my friends were doing the same, so I followed. But I got really engrossed in it. Teaching isn’t just something you can dabble in.
Most people I’ve worked with wanted to be a teacher for a long time because of their parents or other influences. But I do take it pretty seriously. I have been a teacher for five years this year and got into it from my very first casual day onwards.
I wanted to teach after doing my first prac. Just seeing that lightbulb moment in kids; there’s been a few times where you can actually see kids get it, it’s really rewarding. I haven’t been in one place for long enough for kids to remember a shared experience from a long time ago but they still recall moments we’ve had.
The background of the kids I teach is so different to my own that I have to re-evaluate how I teach - I don’t think I’ve ever taught the same thing twice. I do share a few similarities with Tiff. It’s all about the relationship with the kids; showing an interest in their lives and sharing parts of my life with them. It’s important that I don’t misrepresent myself to them because I want to be a good role model. I want to live the way I tell them I live.
Currently, I teach creative arts to kids with special needs and I’ve been enjoying it so I’m looking at retraining in special education. It’s the best faculty to work in. They’re smaller classes and you spend a longer time with the kids. It’s a different experience, I get more lightbulb moments and the rewards you see are bigger. I’m really proud of what the students can do by generating an idea and realising it; it’s a process.
The best teaching moments are actually when we aren’t really teaching. The kids are keen to hear about your life and tell you about their lives. That is also something that Tiffany does child-initiated learning. For example, art versus graffiti fits in with urban lifestyles and it’s a big part of culture that kids are familiar with.
We both try to make stuff more fun so it’s interesting. Teaching art, the challenge is actually teaching them something. Sometimes I steal things from Tiff and upscale them. Teenagers and toddlers have a lot in common! I don’t make any assumptions about prior knowledge. It’s better to assume they don’t know anything and go from there. I want to help my students and find a better way to do things and succeed in the things they do. Since becoming a dad, I feel more protective of the kids I teach and teaching them well gives me more motivation to do a good job. I’d like Piper to get the same quality teaching that I aim to provide.
One of the biggest things I take from Tiffany is how much she wants people to get along with each other. She has really helped me find what I’m good at and has really pushed me when I need an extra push - in my art practice and in my job. We alternate in supporting and we understand and listen to each other. Tiffany has brought the qualities of her teaching to being a mum. She cares for all the kids and she’s a good mum.