Australia’s Best Teachers: Brisbane Lions’ Chris Fagan says teaching made him a better AFL coach
Chris Fagan grew up thinking he’d be an apprentice in the local mine until his teacher pointed out his potential. After becoming a teacher, that journey has taken him all the way to the AFL.
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If it wasn’t for one of his high school teachers, Chris Fagan may never have become an AFL coach.
The Brisbane Lions leader grew up in Queenstown, a copper mining town on Tasmania’s west coast.
It was expected he’d work in the mines after school like his electrician father and so many of his schoolmates at Murray High.
But it was Fagan’s social science teacher, Bronwyn Sidebottom (nee Williams), who encouraged him to explore beyond his hometown.
“She felt I had the ability to move away and do some other things, get a degree,” Fagan said.
“She said that to me and it made me think. I thought I’d do what most other kids do (in Queenstown) and get a job in the mine. My dad was an electrician in the mine.
“When she said that to me, it made me think and I changed course. I decided to become a teacher. I was mainly inspired by her, she made me feel good about myself and perhaps I could do some things that I didn’t think were possible.”
Fagan studied his Bachelor of Education at the University of Tasmania and became a primary school teacher.
His wife Ursula, who he met at university, is a teacher and so is one of his daughters.
After 12 years teaching he switched to a full-time role in the AFL. And he credits many of the skills he developed in the classroom for setting him up for success in coaching and in life.
“In teaching (and in coaching) you need to build relationships with people and understand them, to get the best out of them. Encourage them to take risks and have a growth mindset. Develop an environment built on trust and safety,” Fagan said.
“You need to be highly organised. The management skills you learn as a teacher help as a coach and in life in general.
“If anyone wants to do a degree in teaching, I’d recommend it. There are so many spin-offs that come from it. Everything I learned as a teacher has helped me in my 27 years in footy, without a doubt.”
And four decades later, he still keeps in touch with Mrs Sidebottom.
“I can’t thank her enough and she knows that because I’ve said that to her many times,” Fagan said.
“I imagine that she’d be pretty pleased about the help she gave me. I think if I hadn’t become a teacher that I wouldn’t be sitting here as the coach of the Brisbane Lions. Those skills I learned help me in my job incredibly, every day.
“She might be surprised that I’m an AFL coach, but she won’t be surprised that I became a good teacher.”
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ROCK ON: TEACHER HITS THE RIGHT NOTES
Musician Jacob Hicks has toured Australia and Europe, but nowhere can he find a more appreciative audience than at CorindaState High School, where his junior percussion group stole the show at Fanfare with electrifying performances of Britney Spears’ Toxic and Harry Styles’ As It Was.
Formerly based in London, Mr Hicks, a multi-instrumentalist performer played with artists like Jonathan Boulet, Mr Maps, PYNES, and Re: Enactment, but returned to his hometown in 2014 with a focus on inspiring future generation of Brisbane musicians.
“Teaching is a very performative type of work. I get the same kind of satisfaction from performing in front of a crowd and winning over the attention of 26 students and keeping their attention for 70 minutes,” said Mr Hicks.
“There are actually quite a lot of parallels of doing a gig and holding the attention of a large crowd, to being in front of a classroom.”
Since joining Corinda State High School as a full-time teacher in 2017, Mr Hicks has been short-listed for the Queensland College of Teacher’s Beginning to Teach Award, Commonwealth Bank National Teaching Awards, and Merline Muldoon Memorial Award for Innovation in Teaching.
His teaching method involves writing or arranging music tailored to his students’ abilities and interests, fostering a love for music that is both educational and enjoyable.
“If I can get the students involved in it too, I think that’s awesome. I had a student come up to me to ask if I liked the song Toxic by Britney Spears and can we play it? For the last couple of years we’ve been going down a road where we play on very traditional instruments that have been around for hundreds of years, but we put them into the pop world. I don’t even have to tell the kids to practice; they’ve picked the songs themselves and they really want to play them.”
Mr Hicks said his music career has greatly influenced his teaching and his experiences as a touring musician has enabled him to empathise with a diverse range of people and to connect with his students to experience the transformative power of music.
“It’s a great feeling when you see a 12 to 16-year-old become obsessed with music all of a sudden. That’s just the best time of your life, really, when you’re discovering this thing, which is, in my point of view, the closest thing to real magic,” he said.
“It is unexplainable at times, like when you’re having a really good show and you feel this energy. I get to experience that everyday now, which is a real privilege.”
He said swapping the stage for the classroom was the right decision, but teachers have to be better supported.
“I think when we have healthy schools, we have a healthy society – I think we forget. I think when there’s problems at schools, there’s going to be problems, not just the society in the present, but for generations to come. And the more that we can do to respect the art of teaching and to value teachers in Australia, the better our society will be.”
WHY WE LOVE TEACHING KIDS IN MT ISA
When Brisbane teacher Bec Samios was offered a prep teaching role in Mount Isa, she refused to get on the plane until her previous school put it in writing that she was guaranteed her old job back when she returned.
Seven years later, the Barkly Highway State School teacher doesn’t look like going anywhere. She has met her fiance, bought a house and owns two dogs, has coached a soccer team, and will refuse to leave the North West unless her friends do.
“You have the opportunity to actually make a difference and be recognised and immerse yourself into the community,” she said.
“It is like being a professional actor, mother, sister, best friend, you name it, to the children, to their families, to the community.
“And it’s showtime.
“The minute that bell goes, to the minute it ends, you’re acting.”
One of the closest relationships she has built is with her colleague Nicole Liu. Outside of school they have produced award-winning teams for the annual Rock, Pop, Mime show, while in the classsroom they have grown a school garden, and planned what they would do to teach their four and five-year-old students.
Mrs Liu said it took a lot of work outside the classroom to organise lessons but people were seeing the rewards of the efforts they put in.
The pair have been recognised as part of the Courier Mail’s Australia’s Best Teachers campaign, which raises respect and shines a light on the amazing work our teachers do.
Mrs Lui said lessons depended on the mood of the classroom on the day despite all the planning.
“You can think that you’re the most prepared person and organised person,” Mrs Liu said.
“But you turn up and you can feel like that’s not the direction we’re going today.
“Everything changes at the drop of a hat.
“We prefer to co-construct and do everything with the children.”
Mrs Liu grew up in Mount Isa but left to teach in China, where she met her husband.
When she returned to North West Queensland she raised her children until they were old enough to attend school before she returned to full-time teaching.
“It’s just a part of who I am,” she said.
QLD TEACHER OF THE OUTBACK
Dinosaur knowledge isn’t a prerequisite for most principals, but for Emma Wilson at Eromanga State School, it’s unexpectedly vital.
Situated in the outback town of Eromanga, a tourist hotspot for housing Australia’s largest dinosaur, Cooper the Australotitan cooperensis, Ms Wilson manages the dual roles of teacher and principal.
With just five students enrolled at the school, she’s supported by a relief teacher once a week and a dedicated cleaner.
“It’s a very unique town and very close knit, everyone knows everyone and they would take the shirt off their back to help the people around them,” Ms Wilson said.
“The population within the township is between 30 and 50 people and we have a pub, a caravan park and the Natural History Museum where Cooper is.”
Since moving to Eromanga for the principal gig in 2022, Ms Wilson’s integration into the community has been wholehearted.
She’s the local pool lifeguard, the secretary of the Queensland Country Women’s Association, a regular at community barbecues and helps with fossil preparation at the town’s famous Natural History Museum.
Ms Wilson, who was nominated for the Courier-Mail’s Australia’s Best Teachers campaign, began teaching at Dalby South State School with 500-600 students, but said she was drawn to smaller schools.
“I went to small schools as a child, not as small as Eromanga, but schools with 50-odd kids … so I do have a bit of a soft spot for small schools and the opportunities that they can offer kids,” she said. .
“Because we only have five students, it’s really intensive, one-on-one support for them.
“We know them really, really well and exactly what they need so we can give them these amazing opportunities.
“We have a teacher who comes in from Quilpie, which is 100km east of us, one day a week to give me admin relief time to be a principal, then I’m on class, four days a week.
Despite the geographical isolation, Ms Wilson remains well-connected to her professional peers.
“Some of the biggest challenges here are where in a larger school, you’d often have teachers the same year level and the same situation right next door,” she said.
“But for me to interact with other teachers and brainstorm and bounce ideas off, it’s a phone call and or a video conference.”
She praised the Education Department’s support, facilitating cluster meetings for schools in similar areas to share successes and engage in professional development.
“We’re also given mentors to talk to, and are always connected with principals of similar sized schools and, as well as different schools.”
Eromanga State School ensures each child has access to technology, aligning with Ms Wilson’s passion for equal opportunities.
“The whole reason I got into teaching was making sure that all children who I taught had the same access and opportunities as other children in bigger schools, private schools, more central schools, that’s my big passion,” she said.
QLD TEACHER REVEALS KEY TO CHILD’S SUCCESS
When it comes to unlocking the door to a lifetime of learning, school teacher Lisa Keane insists that reading is the key.
With a career spanning 33 years, Ms Kean has been nominated in this year’s Australia’s Best Teacher campaign and the Runcorn Heights State School educator understands the power of reading better than most.
She works across her school teaching illiterate students to read and write while mentoring a team of teacher aides to do the same.
“It is a privilege to be part of changing their lives,” Ms Keane said.
“They come to us from other schools where they haven’t been able to write their name or the alphabet and by the time they finish the process they’re functionally reading, picking up chapter books and engaging with their peers.”
Ms Keane sees the positive effects of her labour every day, both in and outside of her classroom.
“Reading offers success in all areas of learning across the curriculum,” she said.
“And it impacts on their social and emotional wellbeing because they can see themselves as a success.
“You can imagine the effect it has on their self-esteem.”
Runcorn Heights principal Pam Ruddell has every faith in Ms Keane and her knack for getting results.
“Lisa has the ability to make every child believe that they can learn, be successful and improve despite their challenges or barriers,”she said.
“Students always have fun when learning with Ms Keane and know that her learning space is always ‘safe’ for them to take risks or make mistakes.”
For Ms Keane, class is more than just learning.
“If we’re not making connections with our students, making them feel secure, making them know we are going to accept them, we aren’t doing our job,” she said.
“I hope every child leaves the room having had fun.”
HOW QLD TEACHERS BRIDGE REGIONAL DIVIDE
Belinda Hampton is the Head of Department for English at Atherton State High School, located about 90 minutes southwest of Cairns. She shares what it’s like teaching in a regional school.
The teaching system is facing testing times, including problems of retention and recruitment.
The education profession, for me, isn’t about climbing a career ladder; it’s about making meaningful opportunities for young people so they have agency to follow their own pathways.
Teaching, especially in a regional school like Atherton High means you are part of a community. You know what is important to your students and their families, and the stories that are a part of the local fabric. My community is agriculturally based, and we are spoiled for choice when it comes to seasonal fruits, and who wouldn’t enjoy going to work each day where an English classroom can sit alongside alpacas, bee hives and prize-winning cattle from the agriculture class. It grounds me to remember schools across Australia are diverse.
Here, innovation thrives out of necessity.
Virtual museums tours, livestreamed performances, and streamed guest speakers are just some ways our school has adapted to bridge the gap between our regional setting and the wider world. Distance from a city centre shouldn’t dictate the quality of education for young people.
However, a reality is that many students still leave their homes and communities to access educational opportunities.
This includes young people who join our Tablelands community from the islands, and students leaving to go to university who often leave to relocate in Townsville, Brisbane and Melbourne.
One thing I would message strongly is that professional development can be transformative for teachers.
In 2023, I was incredibly fortunate and had the opportunity to be a part of the Bell Shakespeare Mentorship, sponsored by the wonderful team at Teachers’ Mutual Bank.
It came at a time when I was feeling worn down and worn out – Covid impacted all our lives, and schools were not immune.
At a national level, we were looking at cuts to the Arts and Humanities, and accountability pressures, and I was concerned with what this would mean for the experiences and representations of young people into the future – as teachers and student.
But participating in the Bell Shakespeare Mentorship was just the stimulus I needed to feel reconnected and able to innovate in my teaching space again.
One of the big changes for me as a result of the mentorship, I looked for opportunities to say, ‘yes’. Yes to performance as pedagogy. Yes to using Shakespeare to illustrate human experiences. Yes to talking with other teachers across Australia about different ways to face collective problems.
I felt reignited through this mentorship opportunity. It returned a passion for teaching in the classroom, and reminder of what I could bring to the experience of students in my class.
This is a really challenging time to work as a teacher. Educators are dealing with changes at local, national and international levels.
We must strike a balance between informed guidance and professional autonomy in our policies and curriculums.
Recognising the multifaceted roles teachers fulfil, both inside and outside the classroom, is crucial for fostering a supportive and respectful environment.
For those entering this profession, I offer three pieces of advice: build your network, embrace opportunities for growth, and value the contributions of your colleagues, including our frontline Teacher Aides.
High-quality, caring schools matter. Caring for our teachers needs to matter, too.
Despite the obstacles we encounter, I maintain my belief in education as a potent tool for shaping a critical and inquiring future.
HOW QLD RELIEF TEACHER INSPIRES STUDENTS
Thrust into the unknown every day, casual relief teachers wear many hats, transforming their approach to fit each new class.
Robina State School’s beloved relief teacher Kaylan Dahl is able to do just that, with her bright disposition and nurturing spirit winning her a nomination in the Courier-Mail’s Australia’s Best Teachers campaign.
“I think for me, the power of positivity is really important, building connection and encouragement — to see that sparkle in their eyes when they get that light bulb moment — it makes it all worth it,” Ms Dahl said.
“That’s what it’s about, the power of our words and our actions with these kids — it’s huge,” she said.
Having worked at the school for her entire 20-year career, Ms Dahl’s ability to teach across year levels has afforded her a unique insight not experienced by many.
“As a relief teacher, I watch them arrive in Prep and I see their growth, change and successes across the years. How lucky am I to be able to witness that?” she said.
Ms Dahl does not take her role lightly, making sure to mold herself to each student’s needs.
“For these kids when their regular teacher is away it can be really challenging for them,” she said
“It’s important to be able to establish those connections and re-establish them quickly, because you do only have that short amount of time when you’re in their class for a day.”
Robina State School principal Carmel Baker labelled Ms Dahl a master in the “art of teaching”.
“She’s just a wonderful example of our profession, she knows what it means to be a great teacher,” Ms Baker said.
“Kaylan will accept children as they are,” she said.
“She can read a room and fit the program, her strategies and her methods to suit a whole range of students.
“Good teachers can develop those relationships when they’re constantly working with the same group of children all the time, but what’s special about Kaylan is she manages to do it in multiple environments on any given day.”
Outside of the classroom, Ms Dahl has endeared herself to her colleagues and her principal through her effervescent charm.
“She’s bubbly, she’s happy, she’s soft, she’s calm, she’s got all the characteristics you would want,” Ms Baker said.
“She’s an ideal relief teacher for us. Everybody loves Kaylan.”
Celebrating inspirational and impactful teachers across Australia. Follow the series and nominate.
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