Teaching: A ticket to the world

For Maneesha Patterson, becoming a teacher is a way to combine two passions – health and welfare, and travelling the world. She shares her experience of studying at Victoria University (VU).

“When I finished school I did some travel, and then I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I did a year of sports science, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

“So I transferred into the Bachelor of Education (P-12), and I’ve really been able to do it my own way. The year of sports science gave me credit, so it all worked out really well.”

Helping to shape young lives

“I’ve always felt inclined to be a teacher. I think I have a natural ability with kids. I chose welfare and health as my major and minor, because I want to understand and be able to educate kids in a more holistic way.

“From personal experience, I want to be the kind of teacher I needed when I was younger. I think it’s important to look at emotional intelligence and how their headspaces are, because kids aren’t going to want to learn if they’re upset about something at home.”

Seeking out experiences, in teaching & life

“I’ve really made the most of all the opportunities VU has to offer. I did an international exchange in 2019 at this really grand, beautiful university in Leeds, and I was so supported by VU throughout the whole journey.

“For my teaching placements, I really wanted to have a wide range of experiences. The partnerships office was so supportive. They just said, ‘What do you want to do? Okay, we’ll sort it out for you.’

“So I’ve done primary teaching at a private religious grammar school, and secondary teaching at an all-girls public school.

“Then my last placement was at the other end of the spectrum – I went up to the Northern Territory and did four weeks in a small town working with Indigenous kids.”

A better way to study

“The VU Block Model has worked so much better for me and the way my brain works. I’m much more of a one-thing-at-a-time learner. It’s so good to be able to just focus on a subject and tick it off every four weeks.

“All my friends at other unis are like, ‘I have five assignments due at the end of this week’, and I’m like, ‘I do one at a time’. It just makes so much more sense.

“In my course there were a lot of electives I could choose from, so it also helped that I was learning about things I was engaged with and really wanting to learn.”

A future of travel & teaching

“After I graduate I’ll probably travel and work overseas as a teacher, maybe in a low-income country.

“That’s another reason why I wanted to do teaching – it’s very much a sought-out career throughout the world. You can really go anywhere with it.”

Interested in a career in education?

Get started on a rewarding career as a teacher. VU is one of the few universities in Australia to offer a Bachelor of Education (P-12), which allows you to teach at any school level.

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