Time to celebrate teachers
SIBLINGS ALL LOVE TO TEACH
WHEN YOU CAN SEE YOU’VE MADE A DIFFERENCE OR YOU HELPED THEM UNDERSTAND SOMETHING AND SEE THEIR LITTLE FACES LIGHT UP, IT’S REALLY REWARDING. — RHIANNON BURBIDGE
For many, leaving the office for the day guarantees a break from the work chat. Not for this family. The Mepham siblings — Rhiannon (Burbidge), Lara (Mollison) and Tom — all chose to become teachers, so sometimes the conversation does return to school.
Rhiannon is a relief teacher at Berry St School and Tom works there fulltime.
Lara works part-time at St Brendan’s Primary School and at Bourchier St Primary School.
‘‘It’s not always the topic of conversation but it does go back to that,’’ Lara said.
Rhiannon said she had noticed similarities between herself and Tom while they had been teaching together at Berry St School.
‘‘I think we share a calm demeanour,’’ she said.
Coincidentally, Lara and Rhiannon both married teachers, Matthew Mollison and Adam Burbidge respectively, bringing the total number of educators in the family to five.
Adam is the acting principal at St Georges Rd Primary School, while Matthew teaches at Bourchier St Primary School.
‘‘I suppose it’s hard to get away from it sometimes,’’ Matthew said with a laugh.
‘‘We do go in with the mindset that we’re not going to talk about school, but we care a lot about our jobs.’’
All five teachers agree they have an almost collegial support system, with so many in the family.
‘‘We get a lot of ideas off each other and we have a laugh about what happens at school,’’ Tom said.
It comes as no surprise that the family is so dedicated to the profession.
A recent study conducted by Monash University found 76 per cent of respondents thought teachers in Australia cared for the wellbeing of their students.
The study, released for World Teachers’ Day on October 5, asked a nationally representative sample of people what they thought of teachers.
Lead researcher for Monash University’s study into the perceptions of Australian teachers Dr Amanda Heffernan said the results showed a greater understanding of the impact teachers had in classrooms.
Some 74 per cent of respondents agreed teachers had made an impact on their lives, which was something that inspired the Mepham siblings and their partners to become teachers in the first place.
‘‘The findings from the study reflect a high level of public trust for Australian teachers, and an awareness that teachers care for the wellbeing of their students,’’ Dr Heffernan said.
‘‘I had positive and negative experiences at school, and I remembered the positive experiences I had with some teachers,’’ Adam said.
‘‘I wanted to be a role model.’’
Tom completed an electrical apprenticeship but wasn’t satisfied with his job and so changed careers to become a teacher.
‘‘Seeing my two older sisters as teachers made me decide to go to uni,’’ he said.
As with his other family members, Tom said he liked being a positive role model for his students at Berry St School.
Lara and Rhiannon said they always tried to pay a bit more attention to the disadvantaged students.
‘‘For those that have a more difficult home life I try to show them someone cares,’’ Lara said.
‘‘When you can see you’ve made a difference or you helped them understand something and see their little faces light up, it’s really rewarding,’’ Rhiannon said.
The study reported that the increase in appreciation for teachers was in response to the implementation of remote learning during the pandemic.