Being a teacher
About Julie Hubbard
Julie Hubbard is a loving mother. If she is not there for her family she is teaching. Julie, my mother has always wanted to do something to help. She is very devoted to her students and works very hard. In her free time, she loves the outdoors and to get out of the house., that might be one reason why she teaches Geography. I love my mother and I love to learn more about her and her job.
So tell me, do you have any experiences where people treat you differently because you’re a teacher?
“A..um yeah as you know I am a teacher at one school but I am a parent of two2 children that go to a different school. Wand when we first moved to Switzerland some people just wanted to talk to me because they wanted a teacher opinion. and so I wasn’t sure if people wanted to be my friend or if they just wanted to know something. , Sso, yes, but eventually that stopped.”
Do you have anything to say that people don’t know about teachers?
“I think there are lotsis lots of things. The number of decisions we have to make every day oftenday which often means sometimes we get really tired because it's a lot of work. Teaching is a very emotional job. You know certain details about students and sometimes that can be really stressful. One of the biggest things is that people think school finishes at 4 o'clocko clock and that is it until the next day, which is just not true.
Did you always want to be a teacher?
No, I never wanted to be a teacher. N but now that I am doing it I would never actually want to do another job other than teaching. I remember having a conversation with one of my teachers at school and saying I want to do some kind of job that makes a difference. Hhe suggested teaching so I thought, ‘Ookay, maybe I'll do a teaching qualification and see’. I thought about going into peacekeeping and working for the UN but it was quite difficult to get into at the time. Anyways, I really liked teaching and so the rest is history.
Why did you pick Geography to teach about?
Humanities, or Individuals and Societies as it is in the MYP, is a subject I find very interesting. Kids find it very interesting and relevant to know about the world around us;, how it got like this and why it is how it is. It's very much about the present and important for everybody's future so I find it interesting. and I think the skills that you learn are really important for everybody’s jobs and everybody's future.
“Being a teacher is an emotional job... Iif something is going on for a student you have to be there for them. ”
-Julie Hubbard
What are some of the responsibilities you have because you are a teacher?
As you know I am a Humanities teacher but also I do a team leader role for my grade. You have to plan work that is appropriate for the students to do, so that means it has to be pitched and scaffolded so the kids can access the work. You might not be able to write well so I have to help with that. You know in International schools there are lots of kids that have English as a second language so often you have to plan for that. You have to make sure that everyone can have a go and do it. T and then of course, you have to be there in the classroom to teach it. Then, you have to quickly mark it and tell the students what they should do to improve. You have to be able to communicate all that very clearly. I teach 102 students so I have to know them all really well, teach at the right level, and then you know, speak to their parents. Teachers have to make sure everybody's doing the best they can. It is an emotional job as I said before. A, a lot of this stuff is kind of like your gut feeling do you need to intervene or not?, Should you send an email about this home or not?, Tand obviously the more experienced you are, theare the easier this is to decide.
Do you always see yourself being a teacher in the future or would you do something else?
I really wouldn't do anything else. I love my job and I think I would always want to do a job in education, you know in some capacity. I don't know whether I will always feel like this when I’m older because it's a lot of work and a lot of hours.
If someone asks you to name 10 identities about yourself would you include being a teacher?
One hundred percent yes because as you know I have a lot to say, and sometimes if you don't know me you might need to know this about me. I'm used to people listening to me, I'm used to having an opinion and owning that opinion so I think it's good for people to know I'm a teacher because then that might explain sometimes why I'm so loud.
