
I have a list of reminders on my fridge. Number 7 says
“Don’t forget the day job pays the bills!”
Sometimes when I get so caught up with writing stories, editing photos and fooling around with my creative side I don’t pay enough attention to my day job – being a high school teacher. I need to remind myself that this aspect of my life needs attention too. I need to calibrate my work-life balance, otherwise I won’t be able to do the other stuff!

One thing I can say about teaching is that it is NEVER boring. Often frustrating, sometimes amusing, rarely profound, it is never boring. I teach science and it’s a joy to open kid’s eyes to the complexity of the universe and the the beauty of the subatomic intricacies of matter. To see students understand the impact humans are having on the planet and listen to their strategies to solve problems.
The best part though is when we can go outside the classroom. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to take a small group of Year 11 students to France, Switzerland and the Czech Republic to visit a number of scientific institutions including the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. A rare opportunity, I learnt a lot – more than the students I think. This post is not to share the science but the scenery!
The Old City in Bern – Switzerland


