GEKA Caulfield South

A love of Teaching

Lorraine Peters, Early Childhood Teacher

I would like to tell my story and share with the community, specifically the special moments I have experienced as a Kindergarten Teacher.   

I truly believe there are some people who are born to do certain things in life - mine was to work with children.   As a child, this was always what I wanted to do.  Life will take you down a variety of different paths, with mine giving me many deviations, before I was actually able to fulfil my ambition.

Many years ago, I attained my dream job.  It was a 12 month contract  Working at Mount Scopus College, as an Educator.  As one of very few non-Jewish employees at the school, I embraced this job.  When the contract was due to end, the wonderful families raised a petition to retain my services, and succeeded.  I spent ten wonderful years at Mount Scopus College. 

With the support of the school, I applied to the University of Melbourne, to train as a teacher. Three years later and the dream was a reality. My beautiful family were all there to see me in the robes and accepting my teaching degree.  A memory never forgotten.  I t was very hard work at the time but I have never ever regretted returning to studies and to achieve my goals.

One of my practical placements was at GEKA McKinnon Kindergarten.   As fate would have it,  a position became available at the same time I completed my degree, and was lucky enough to be given the job.

My friendships from those early days are still very strong and I often see children, colleagues and families and have very positive memories of those special years.

After 5 Years at GEKA McKinnon Kindergarten, I was offered an opportunity to work at what is now called GEKA Caulfield South Kindergarten, where I have worked for over 15 years and remain today.  What keeps me smiling and so positive is what I get back from working with young children.  I will give just two examples of the positivity I personally feel from this work.

Example 1:  I recently I had a young 15 year old boy, arrive at the Kindergarten door. 

“Do you remember me Lorraine”?  he said.  

I did not recognise the boy at first. He showed me a kindergarten photo of himself and me.   

“I sat on your knee.  You were dressed up as Santa”.   He was now in Year 10 at Caulfield Grammar.  He wanted to know if he could do work experience at the kindergarten!  During his placement, I asked him if he was thinking of becoming a kindergarten teacher in the future.   “Oh no Lorraine, I am going to be a Plumber! I just had good memories of kindergarten and thought this would be a good work experience!"

Example 2:  A family came to visit the service to assess if it would be suitable for their child.  The boy had limited verbal speech, lacked confidence in his ability to manage gross motor skills, such as climbing, did not make eye contact and had a high stress/anxiety levels. 

Mum was distraught. She had no idea what to do or where to get help.  She told us she chose our service because of the way she 'felt' when she visited.  

The work of a teacher can be really personal and emotional at times.  Our role is to help the whole family, not just the child.

I remember at the time, thinking about a mother that was a guest speaker at a conference I had attended.  This mother told the audience that until she started with her child at a kindergarten, she had felt totally alone.  She recalls the time the teacher encouraged her to to take a few precious minutes to go and have a coffee, just by herself, which she had never been able to until then.  She was able to do this because the teacher reassured her that her child would be safe.  I drew on this reflection and did the same with the mother in front of me.  Her son was in a safe place and she was able to take some very much needed time for herself.  It made a huge difference in her life.    

Her son settled in well.  It wasn't an easy start, but we persevered with love, patience and compassion.  The boy sensed the bond between kindergarten and home and blossomed in so many ways. He was able to use a scooter, climb the large 'A' frame without adult assistance, and ran into kindergarten happily.  His progression over the year was amazing and so satisfying as a teacher to see.  He was even able to transition to school the following year. 

I believe if you are genuine, children are very intuitive, they can sense if the relationship between the teacher and their parents are positive, that gives the child a real sense of security.  This little boy will have a place in my heart forever.  I believe this this extremely important year in his life, will help him reach his full potential.

The friendships forged with staff, families and children and the wonderful memories made with children, over the years, has made my teaching journey such a wonderful, positive choice, that I made so many years ago.