Senior School

Not all roads lead from A to B 

I am often asked how I got into teaching and whilst the answer is relatively long, it has, at its basis, my journey through school and the years afterwards, the impact of my teachers and the advice I received along the way.

At school I would probably have described myself as someone with a lot of energy, who couldn’t sit still for long, rarely slept, a bit mischievous and had a passion for reading. Today I would probably have been diagnosed as ADHD, but back then it was ‘go and play outside’, which I duly did from dawn till dusk, only coming home when the street lights came on.

As I got older my energies were pushed into any and every sport, although never mastering one of them due to my short attention span, but always turning up and turning out – even on our darkest rugby loss of 68-0 in a hailstorm. Looking back, it was the belief that my teachers had in us and the time they gave freely afterschool and on weekends that later inspired me. Mr Morgan our Science teacher and Rugby Coach needed a medal as we never won a game in 5 years, but boy did we have fun along the way!

As I moved into the equivalent of Year 9 and undertook careers advice and pathways conversations with my teachers, my options seemed rather limited when the only thing they could think of was - did I like sea, land or air as they could only recommend the armed forces for me. Nothing else seemed to fit the profiling system they used, so that was my lot in life. Whereas, today, the fantastic advice and opportunities available to Wantirna students are lightyears ahead of what was on offer back then.

With the start of Year 11 and subject selection I didn’t listen to my teacher’s advice – probably the one thing I should have done, all things considered. I chose Physics, Specialist Maths, English, PE and History simply on the basis of I thought I could give it a crack and how hard could it be? Well it turns out quite hard really!

I ended up leaving school with the equivalent of no formal qualifications having failed to demonstrate the required outcomes in 4 out of the 5 subjects. So, what next? Well, it initially didn’t matter as I found another uniformed branch to have a go at, and I applied to become a police officer. Unfortunately, they deemed that I did not have enough life experience, so I ended up travelling for 12 months overseas in Australia, living independently and learning about myself.

I subsequently returned home, reapplied and got into the Force...lasted 12 months and then quit as it was and still is, probably one of the hardest jobs out there and what I saw and experienced was not the life I wanted. 

So, what next?  As part of my time travelling overseas, I had spent time working with a NSW police force community officer and had been invited to attend a camp in the Blue Mountains working with disadvantaged kids. It was reflecting on these experiences and the satisfaction I got from building positive relationships and working with young people, combined with what my teachers gave me growing up, that was the light bulb moment in my life.

I got a full time job as a life guard at a local pool, went back to night school to retake the subjects I needed to gain entry to University, and finally started back into education 3½ years after I finished Year 12. I subsequently graduated with Honours as a teacher of Physical Education having had an amazing four years playing more sport than I though was possible! 

Now, 30 years on, the last 12 as an Assistant Principal, the message I want to pass on to our Year 11 and 12 students is this:

It’s ok not to succeed as long as you try. It’s ok not to know where you’re going and how you are going to get there (but listen to your teachers and parents, as generally they offer sound advice!). Don’t be afraid to follow the road less travelled if you can learn from it and it builds the person you want to become, and most importantly, there is no time frame on that journey. Not all roads lead from A to B.

Good luck in the year ahead and don’t be afraid to lean in – everyone here has got your back!

James Doble

Assistant Principal - Senior School