Teacher Tag: Ms. Bobeff

[U]: You were tagged by Mr. Bourke so I’d like to go back to the time when you first met. How was it being part of the first Galileo team ever?

B: Um…. I loved it. It was a great experience. I felt really really lucky. So, that was my first job, out of the Masters of Teaching, and I loved the school, and I was also really excited about Galileo, and then, when - I suppose… I’m just trying to think… I remember just feeling really excited and kind of really honoured that I was being asked to be part of that, um, and then when it sort of started, and I was working with Michael and Paul, when we actually started working, it was really tough, because everything was new, and we had to design it, um, but there was always that sense of excitement and that we were doing something quite different and quite interesting. And then, probably just the best thing was that I had just such a great year. I really loved all the kids that came through, and yeah, for that whole year I just felt really happy and really lucky, and you know, kind of blessed in a way that I was part of it, so it was great.

[U]: Why is a program like Galileo important?

B: Um… (whispering) why do I think it’s important… I think it’s important for lots of reasons. I think it gives kids a chance to learn in a really different way, and I think that’s really important, because a lot of school is really similar. I think it gives also students sometimes a chance to have relationships with teachers, and experiences that are different to being in a classroom. And certainly I just think, sort of, getting to see the world around them and getting to understand Melbourne, and uncover some of the mysteries of Melbourne is such a fantastic opportunity. I also do really think it’s good to focus on things like behaviours or qualities, skills and knowledge, but you know, it gives students a bit more ownership over how they want to learn and what they want to learn, so I just think, yeah, it’s good to give them that variety, and certainly I always think the kids, when they come out of Galileo, you see that sense of growth and independence, so I think it’s great for that.

[U]: We heard that you went through a similar program during high school – kind of like a bush experience. How did it help your Galileo teaching skills?

B: Ooh that’s a good question… I was more open to the idea. Because I had sort of done that stuff myself, and certainly I had no fears around, or I had no concerns that missing a term of school is a bad thing, you know, mainstream school, and that that would hold you back, because I’d done it myself and I knew that it was just a really enriching experience for me, uh, it was quite different because that one you live away from home for a whole month, no a whole term, and it is on a farm, so it’s quite different… but I think it often did compare, and it made me pleased, particularly after the first year or the second year, I thought that Galileo kind of stands on its own, in that, there aren’t a lot of school-based kind of programs like this which are focused on knowing your city, and I think that’s really special, so I was happy about that.

[U]: Going back to the high school topic, I heard that you were the Vice Captain of MLC. How did you get into that?

B: I loved school, so I think that helped. I just loved it. I think that if anyone had school spirit, it was me. So, I don’t know, at that school they just voted, so they vote for us in year 11, and I was lucky, because the School Captain was one of my best friends, and um, a lot of the prefects were good friends, uh, but I certainly had a lot of energy, and I was pretty much in all school activities, so I presume that had something to do with it.

[U]: Also, can you tell us about your experience as a rowing coach?

B: Yep, so when I was at MLC I started rowing, and I loved it, I probably wasn’t the best but I loved it, so then I started coaching in year 12, and I really loved coaching, and I was probably a better coach than I was a rower, um, and I did that for eight or so years, and yeah, that’s one of the things that led me towards teaching, but I loved it. I loved the team aspect, we always came up with crazy names for our team, like a metaphor, so we would have a team called the Watermelons, because they were hard on the outside but sweet on the inside, stuff like that. They were pretty cheesy, uh, and I was working with all my friends, um, you know, you’d be on the river, in the summer, in the afternoons, and in the mornings, but the afternoons were very nice, so yeah, it was a great job, I love it a lot.

[U]: Do you still do it?

B: No, so my last season was the year I became a teacher. And, no, sometimes I’ve watched some competitions. I still go watch some regattas, and some of my friends still do it, so I - no, but I used to coach against Rob Westwood, so we were in competition. I think for at least one year we had a crew that raced against each other, so that’s how I met him as well. So, it’s a small world.

[U]: Did you always want to be a teacher?

B: I think- ah- I think for a long time. So I know when I was in year 8 I had a teacher called Mr. Mac, no, Mr. Matt, maybe, Mr. Mac was at my school as well, but I had a teacher, and he was an excellent Maths teacher, and that was the first time, because I was good at maths, and I remember thinking, how much he helped all the kids that were not good at maths, and I remember thinking that would be amazing, to do that job, so that was the first time I thought about it, so that was a long time to think about being a teacher. And then after uni, my only concern was I didn’t want to be a person that just did teaching, um, because they couldn’t think of anything else, so I made sure I did some other jobs first, and then after I did that for a couple of years, I thought no no, I definitely want to be a teacher, so that was important to me to be really sure, and it was the right decision.

[U]: Based on your experience as a wonderful English teacher, what’s your favourite text to teach?

B: My favourite text to teach I think is Macbeth; I love it. Yeah, I’ve taught it heaps now, because I reckon I’ve taught it the most, and I always get really excited about it. And I also find that sometimes, as I’ve taught it every year, I’ve changed, or my view of the characters has developed, so that’s probably my favourite to teach, yep.

[U]: What’s the hardest?

B: Ooh, that is a good question… I think the hardest I’ve had was probably Lord of the Flies. I taught it when I was teaching in Darwin for a little while, and I think it was really long, and it was quite difficult for my students, so that was hard because I had to find a way to get them interested and encourage them to read it. So that has been the hardest one, but it’s not necessarily the hardest book, that was the one I had the most trouble with.

[U]: Well you’ve sort of jumped to the next question, but can you tell us a bit about teaching in Darwin?

B: Yes! Well, I went to Darwin for a year and a half, and I taught at a school, uh, that was really different to Uni High, so the kids wore uniforms, and it was much stricter, um, it was a lot smaller, so it took me a little while to settle in, maybe for the first semester, I kept thinking I wish I was back at Uni High, um, then I got really used to it, and I loved it in the end, apart from the kids being fantastic and the school, all the other English teachers – I really enjoyed working with them. Um, it was quite an adventure, ‘cause specially in the wet season, which is between December- oh not December, sort of October through to sort of April / May, it can be really, really wet and really, really humid. And so, you had to get used to sometimes just walking from your office to the classroom you would be saturated and often the kids would have to come in and take their shoes off, ‘cause they were so wet, and just having the air conditioning on all the time and stuff, so it was different, but I liked it. A lot. And I love Darwin a lot too.

[U]: Just to finish up the teaching topic, what changes would you make to the current education system?

B: That’s a good question Tara.

[U]: (laughs) Take your time.

B: Oh gosh… I guess I just feel… I suppose the thing that upsets me the most is when I see, um, some students not being catered for, and so maybe not being able to excel or to succeed in the way others are. So I suppose, I guess maybe if there could be flexibility – I guess it needs money too – but maybe if there could just be the flexibility for us to be able to really… and to support, I suppose, for teachers to be able to really help every single individual student because I do think sometimes the way the system is set up, it, you know, individual people can not get everything they need if that makes sense.

[U]: I was talking to some of your colleagues and they said a group of you travelled to the US to study in Harvard together.

B: Yep!

[U]: And, what was that whole experience like?

B: That was good fun! So we went to, uh, it was with Michael and Paul again but also Chris, so, uh, I knew them all well from working with them from Galileo, um, and actually there were a few… Yeah, Ms. Ryan-Claire was there too just by chance so there was quite a group. Um, and yeah we had a funny time. We went to New York for a week just to be tourists, um, and I’d already been to New York and I loved New York and I had already imagined my first day in great detail, and then when we arrived our bags were lost and it was the middle of the night, and so I remembered just that the first day I had to walk around in just tracksuit pants that were dirty from being on a plane. And, um, I was really upset that my dream first day in New York wasn’t happening, but other than that, then the bags arrived and we had a great time. And then we went to Boston and studied at Harvard for a week, and that was a really interesting experience but it was also, mainly, the stuff that we remember a lot is the cultural, uh, differences and sort of meeting all the different teachers from America and how they teach and how they sort of see the world and there were a lot of kind of quirky characters. And a lot of the times we felt very, I think we stood out because were much younger than everybody as well, but, yeah, we had a great time.

[U]: One particular colleague told me to ask you about the coffee problem in the US.

B: Oh was I looking for coffee?

[U]: Apparently so.

B: I bet you I would’ve been. I love coffee, so that does make… I can’t remember, but potentially… Imagine, especially Mr. Bourke – or Michael – he would not care, probably, which coffee he drank. I think I left every morning before everyone and walked to the better café that I thought had the slightly better coffee, because they do drip coffee or something, whereas we have our proper coffee. So yes, I can admit, I’m sure I was looking for proper coffee.

[U]: And, is it true that you almost met Ethan Hawke in Brooklyn?

B: Yes, I did! But I told the story the wrong way the other day. Yes, I did, I was walking along the street and then I saw him, I saw him on the phone and I’m sure I heard him say ‘tell Johnny Depp not to be late’ and I was really excited. I love, I do have a little celebrity obsession so that was exciting for me.

[U]: And are there any other crazy stories to share with us from your time in the US?

B: Oh, um… Is it bad if I say no? I can’t… with those guys?

[U]: Well just in general, if you have any other… crazy stories to share.

B: I don’t think so… No not too crazy. Before I came back to Uni High, my partner and I, we drove from New York to LA, so I wouldn’t say it was crazy but certainly, that’s an excellent way to see a country and, um, you know just listening to the radio and listening to all the shop jocks there who are really extreme… they seem crazy, the of things they say is outrageous to an Australian. I don’t, I can’t remember anything too crazy happening, but we had a good time.

[U]: And, just to finish it all up, we’ve all been admiring your cute baby bump…

B: Thank you.

[U]: …and I couldn’t help but ask, what are you looking forward to most about becoming a parent?

B: Um, that is a good question. At this stage I’m just really excited to meet him. I mean, it’s kind of amazing, it’s exciting to think that me and my partner have created this person and just to sort of see what he’s like and what he looks like. Um, and then I’m just sort of excited to hang out with him and have this little person that I get to know really well, so… does that make sense?

[U]: Yep, yep.

B: Yep, but I am, I’m starting to get very very excited, so it’s going to be great.

[U]: And what are you most nervous about?

B: Uh, I think I’m just really nervous about just having a baby, so that’s it. (Laughing) I haven’t looked beyond that.

[U]: And this is just a general question we ask everyone; do you have any hidden talents to share with Ubique?

B: Hidden talents? No, I love to think I’m a good singer. I love singing and so even when I used to coach, I used to coach singing into a megaphone and, occasionally people would say to me, I remember once someone said to me ‘you’re a good singer’ and I just thought that was the best. But I don’t think I am a good singer, I think I just love singing. But in my second life, I wouldn’t mind being in a musical, just in the chorus or something. That would be my - actually I would love that, I should join the school musical just for a day, you know? (Laughing) I can’t think of any hidden talents.

[U]: And who would you like to tag?

B: Ok, let me think… Let me just think about this… I wonder… I remember thinking and having a person… Oh, I was thinking Ms. Cooper, because she’s a legend. Also she would have a lot to say. So maybe I’ll go Ms. Cooper.