Wattle Park Primary School teacher John Davey hits 50 years
Teachers never seem to get older, particularly these ones. We talked to the Whitehorse teachers who have been in the classroom for decades. Do you recognise any of them?
East
Don't miss out on the headlines from East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Leading classes of children in their formative years, teachers have an impact on so many lives.
And for the teachers who have been in the profession for a long time, their reach could be as wide as thousands of children.
We took a look at Whitehorse’s longest-serving state school teachers.
50 YEARS
John Davey — Wattle Park Primary School
John Davey didn’t plan on a career in teaching, but he’s just hit 50 years in the job — and he’s still going.
The Surrey Hills father has spent the last 20 years teaching at Burwood’s Wattle Park Primary School.
He previously taught at Koonung Heights Primary School, and was the school’s principal in 1993 when Premier at the time Jeff Kennett shut the school.
Mr Davey reckons he has had a go at teaching every subject across his 50 years, even though he trained to be a Physical Education teacher.
“At Primary level you do everything,” he said. “You’ve got to be adaptable”
For the past five years he has loved being Wattle Park Primary School’s art teacher.
“All the kids love art,” he said. “There’s no pass or fail.”
Mr Davey said he enjoyed the action of primary teaching.
“There’s never a dull moment.”
He said inside the classroom was only one aspect of teaching, with a lot of work involved in organising sport, co-curriculars and working with parents.
In his 50 years, he said the biggest change he’d seen in the education system was the new technology, and a lot more paperwork.
“Teaching’s basically the same, you’ve got to engage kids.”
Mr Davey said the key to a long teaching career was having supportive colleagues.
“That’s half of what keeps you teaching actually. The kids are good but if you’ve got a good team to work with, it makes it so much easier.”
45 YEARS
Charmaine Mason — Orchard Grove Primary School
Charmaine Mason’s 45-year teaching career has been filled with special memories.
She particularly enjoys travelling down memory-lane when she runs into her old students, “and finds them to have grown into great human beings and assets to our society”.
Ms Mason was recently buying a carpet when she ran into a man she last saw in 1983 when he was a Year 5 student.
“These encounters make me feel proud to have had some small part in these kids’ lives,” she said.
Ms Mason said her favourite thing about the job was the children, but she said she’d also met some great adults on her journey, many of whom have become her close friends.
She’s spent 24 years teaching at Orchard Grove Primary School, and has previously worked in Box Hill North, Rowville and Pascoe Vale North.
40 YEARS
Barbara Hinkins — Mont Albert Primary School
Barbara Hinkins has been teaching for 40 years and isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon, aiming to hit the 50-year mark.
“Try and stop me,” she said. “I continue to learn and would love to continue to teach.”
Ms Hinkins said she loved watching students grow and learn and then watching their siblings do the same.
She’s now seeing the children of her former students, and this year one of her former students has become a teacher at the school.
“It’s good to know I didn’t put her off teaching,” she said.
Ms Hinkins said it was quiet unusual having parent-teacher interviews with parents who she still considered to be her “babies”.
Having lived in the area since she was four years old, Ms Hinkins has been teaching
at Mont Albert Primary School for the past 28 years.
She’s also worked at Chatham Primary School, Ringwood North Primary School, Deepdene Primary School and Hawksburn Primary School.
She a special memory from her teaching career was her Year 3 class’ to the September 11 attacks.
A teacher from a New Jersey school mentioned on a teaching forum that her class of seven year olds were traumatised because they were directly across the river from the World Trade Centre and could not get used to the idea that the buildings — and people — were gone.
“She mentioned that many New York schools were being supported by schools around the world and I asked my class what they thought we could do.
”We sent pictures and letters encouraging the students and teachers in New Jersey and these were taken, by one of the teachers, to Union Square to be added to the collection there.”
Clive Hoskin — Antonio Park Primary School
Clive Hoskin has enjoyed both teaching and learning throughout his 40 years in the career.
He has found it rewarding to be a part of so many children’s learning journeys, especially watching “the expression on students’ faces and the twinkle in their eye as they start to understand a concept”.
The camaraderie he’s developed with fellow teachers and the continual learning journey he’s been on to improve as a teacher have also been highlights of his career.
Mr Hoskin has been at Antonio Park Primary School for eight years.
He previously worked in Serpell, Park Orchards, Warranwood and Ivanhoe East.
Mr Hoskin said he enjoyed when past students said hello and told him what they’d gone on to do.
One of his favourite memories from his years teaching is billy-racing on Bowmore Ave with the Year 6 students when he taught at Park Orchards Primary School.
“We did get council approval to close the road for a short time, quite a few years ago when traffic wasn’t such an issue,” he said.
“Children had great fun.”
Richard Fly — Whitehorse Primary School
Richard Fly has many fond memories from his four decades teaching.
“The children always amaze you with their enthusiasm for knowledge and learning,” he said.
When he taught at Woori Yallock Primary School in the 1980s, he loved making ceramics with his students.
“One of my parents was a ceramic teacher, so we built a Raku kiln out of the old school incinerator,” he said.
The children mixed the clay with their feet, then held an exhibition of their works once they were fired.
Another highlight for Mr Fly was constructing a kitchen garden with “an enthusiastic team of parents and staff” back in 2006.
Mr Fly said one of his favourite aspects of teaching was working closely with colleagues and parents.
MORE: NEIGHBOURS’ UNHOLY ROW OVER NOISY KIDS IN CHURCH
THE HORROR PARK FIND THAT POISONED FAMILY PET
DOGS UNLEASHED ON SCHOOL BURGLAR
He’s been at Whitehorse Primary School for the past nine years, but has also taught in Burwood, Nunawading, Chatham, Woori Yallock and Croydon.
Mr Fly said he’d seen a lot of changes to teaching over the years, particularly with technology, research and the materials and resources on offer.
“We know so much more about how children learn now and how you can have an impact on their learning.”
Valerie Morelli — Mullauna Secondary College
Valerie Morelli said one of her favourite aspects of teaching was watching teenagers mature from children to adults as they developed their ideas and skills.
“One of the best parts of teaching is meeting ex-students and seeing how well they have turned out and being pleased that I could be part of that,” she said.
Mr Morelli has been teaching since 1976, minus the few years she took off to be with her own children.
She has been at Mitcham’s Mullauna College since 2013.
Stalking crisis: Victim opens up on ‘physical toll’ years later
A Melbourne woman has opened up on the physical and mental toll several years of “relentless stalking” and why she started a nationwide advocacy group.
’Concerning’ rate of oral health issues for Vic kids
A “concerning” rate of Victorian kids have signs of poor oral health, with those in regional and rural areas among them worst. See where kids are most at risk.