Teacher Tag: Mr Davidson
Interviewed by Ruwan Jinadasa, Mily Gu and Shan Balakid
Teacher Tag
With the amazing Mr Davidson
I: Did you have plans for this year that were cancelled due to corona?
Mr Davidson: Yeah, ah one of my best friends was living in Ecuador, and he was getting married over there in the middle of the year, like in June. So our whole friendship group had prepared to go over to Ecuador for the wedding and spend a few weeks over there. And we were going to go the the Galapagos Islands, yeahh so that was obviously cancelled haha. Also we still never got the money back for the flights!
I: Oh noo was there no refund?
Mr Davidson: No it was with Latam Airways and they had to declare bankruptcy or something like that. Haha Latam Airways still writes back to us saying ‘please wait, there’s a high volume of people applying for refunds’ but we’re not hopeful of getting a refund haha
I: What are some differences between uhs and your previous school?
Mr Davidson: Ooh So many. My previous school was Xavier College, so an all boys school in Kew which I really enjoyed there but I think one of the biggest differences for me is how connected UHS students are with the real world. I’m always so impressed with the sense of justice that the students have and the awareness of issues in society, and students' passion towards them. Like climate change is a big one for me and I usually teach geography, and the general level of awareness of what’s going on with climate change is always really impressive so just that kind of community awareness and like world awareness for me. But also the school itself is quite different, for example Xavier had a lot of money, since they’re a private school, so their grounds are incredible and there was a big focus for sport. Whereas I think at UHS the focus is more for Academia and also just for social causes you know like something like this. Haha There was no team that would interview teachers, so like the student agency and community spirit would be something that’s different and really good at Uni High
I: Haha omg and Xavier is such a big school
Mr Davidson: Yeah and it takes up so much space haha In fact there are more students at uni high! But with the grounds and everything, it does take up more space. I had to wear a shirt and tie everyday and so like there were assemblies every week where you would have to wear a blazer as well as wearing a tie everyday. I was also teaching science there, so I would be setting up practicals, and it would get hot in the science rooms leaving you to sweat with a tie on. Yeahh haha so it was quite different
I: What do you think is probably the most unique thing about Galileo?
Mr Davidson: I think similar to what I was saying, and maybe it’s where my perspective comes from with Uni High, but the connectivity with the city and Melbourne, and even though it’s a little different than normal obviously right now, but the opportunities that students have to connect with different organizations and people in Melbourne. Whether it be the trails, where you’re actually getting out and about, or it be the research projects where you’re encouraged to speak to an expert in the field, I think those opportunities are quite unique and highlight Galileo.
I: What was your favourite trail from Galileo?
Mr Davidson: Ahh well I didn’t get to experience them all, but I am a big fan of the 1000 steps. Yeahh I used to go there all the time when I was younger. I lived not too far from there and my brother and I would go there, like 10 years ago, about once a week and walk up and down there. So going there was very nostalgic haha.
I: What do you think is your favourite memory from Galileo?
Mr Davidson: Yeahhh. We had about 6 and half weeks of Galileo before it was kind of interrupted, we knew that corona was kinda around the corner and we had to start cutting things out around 7 weeks in. However we did get to go to camp, and it was really nice. It was a really wonderful experience to see the students in that different perspective. Yeah, it was really lovely seeing everyone hang out in that atmosphere.
I: What was your favourite subject from high school?
Mr Davidson: I actually quite liked chemistry probably. Yeah, I had this awesome teacher who was a real hardarse, like you could not. If you were a minute after the bell like you got left out for 15 minutes. She just had this like sick sense of humour just constantly teasing everyone in the class but that resonated really well with me, I like being teased. Ah yeah it was just really nice so I really liked chem!
I: What is the best advice you could give a student?
Mr Davidson: Yeah, yeah I think to try and laugh and have a sense of humour with everything that you do, I think? Because you know you see a lot of students that maybe get quite stressed and anxious for a variety of reasons and contexts. But you know, having that ability to make light of a situation and laugh and make fun of yourself is just such a wonderful strategy to like cope with any situation. It’s almost like a meditative practice in a way in that you can laugh, you can tease yourself, you can you know, bring a smile to someone else’s face and yeah I think that’s really important.
I: What was your dream job as a kid?
Mr Davidson: I wanted to be a physio!
(Shan) oh my god, I want to be a physio!
Mr Davidson: Really?! Do you wanna be one?
(Shan) Yeah!
Mr Davidson: Yeah it really appealed to me, I was like really into sport and I also liked science and I thought that was like that nice middle ground between the two. Even going into year 12, coming out of year 12 it was on my preferences list and everything like that but I didn’t quite get in. And then I just ended up getting into science right, not just science, I was very happy, and I just really enjoyed science and kinda just like gave up on the health dream. But it actually worked out well. Like I am petrified of needles! Like I sometimes faint when I go to get a needle so I don’t think maybe health and medicine wasn’t the right path for me.
I: Do you have any favourite musicals?
Mr Davidson: Musical? Probably not, I think, I mean, no, I don’t think I do. I’m more into film, I watch a lot of movies, don’t usually enter into the musical realm.
I think my favourite film is like an oldie called Usual Suspects from like the mid 90s. It’s like a psychological thriller with Kevin Spacey and a few others, it’s a good one.
I: What are some of your role models?
Mr Davidson: I mean Brett Sutton, the chief medical officer, love the way he’s going about it in the political sphere at the moment. Honestly, I probably don’t, and it’s probably something I should look more into, I’m feeling a bit directionless.
I: What's a current song or artist you are obsessed with?
Mr Davidson: Let me just check my Spotify. Yeah look I don’t know whether it’s the winter you know the sort of hibernation, down feeling but I’ve been listening to a lot of Radiohead. I used to listen to them a lot and then I had a big break and now I’ve just kind of rediscovered them again. Really really enjoying them!
I: Where are some places you have travelled to before?
Mr Davidson: I used to travel a lot! Which actually seems obscene now with everything that’s going on. I’ve really reflected that and how privileged I’ve been to do that and also the carbon footprint of the travel, but yeah. Last year I had a really really nice trip with some friends. I was away in Europe for 6 months and we took our bikes with us, and we just cycled around Europe for 6 months! So we had our bags and different bike bags set up on the bikes. We flew into St Petersburg in Russia and we rode into Finland and through the Baltics and then down through Poland and into Central Europe. We also hung around Eastern Europe for a big portion of the trip. We’d ride around and set up our campsites with little tents and the little cookers and once or twice a week we’d stay in an accommodation to just do things you need to do. After that we spent the last few months in Spain. I’ve been to Spain before so I was keen on going back again. A very special trip with some friends - we didn’t know where we were going, kind of just seeing where the road takes us. I really put a lot of energy into travelling in my 20s and I don’t regret it at all.
I: Did you have any favourite meals?
Mr Davidson: During the roadtrip with my friends I ate so much. But it was also kind of bad too because we were riding a lot, we had to eat more. We’d feel a bit sick because we came out of every shop with blocks of chocolate. But I think in Spain I really enjoyed the food - I ate a lot of paella, that’s probably my favourite, I love the big paellas.
I: What are you looking forward to after lockdown?
Mr Davidson: So much… I think there’s two things that I am equally excited about. Seeing my close friends that live around the area and going to a few barbecues and parties with them, even if it’s low-key with a group of 5 or a group of 10. Also surfing because I like to surf, especially because I haven’t been able to do it for a few months now. So I’m looking forward to making trips down to the coast and getting in the warm water to surf.
I: If you didn’t become a Galileo teacher what would you do
Mr Davidson: Geography and science. Before I was a teacher, I used to be a Geologist because I did science and then studied earth science and worked as a geologist for 4 years doing metal inspection. I’d look for gold, copper and stuff like that. And then I kind of realised ‘what am I doing with my life’ I need to actually contribute to the community in a positive way. Then that worked out because deciding which subject to choose was easy because of geology and then science.
I: Who do you tag next?
Mr Davidson: Ms Louie !!
Thank you so much Mr Davidson letting us interview you! It was so much fun talking with you and hope you have had a great first year of Galileo :)
If you have any questions that you want us to ask Ms Louie next, make sure to comment down below!!