A Country Education Partnership (CEP) program supporting education in regional and rural areas has been an incredible learning experience in a local high school for three university students.
Melbourne University students Katie Darrington, Meg Lyons and Eunice Kou in their final year of a Master of Education to become teachers recently undertook a pre-service teaching (PST) two-week placement at Beechworth Secondary College.
CEP, running for close to 50 years, has offered a reignited Teach Rural program over the last three years with around 230 PSTs placed in rural schools – both primary and secondary over that time.
CEP chief executive Mark McLay said around 10 percent of students who have completed their teaching degree took up a role in one of the schools they undertook in a placement.
Mr McLay said working with universities around the state, the program helped generate employment for teachers.
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Beechworth Secondary College teachers Finn Pedersen and Anna Hedstrom know only too well the huge advantage of gaining experience in a country setting through CEP’s Teach Rural program.
The pair had undertaken a teaching degree at Melbourne University having switched careers and took part in a rural placement in Tallangatta.
The teachers opted for a move to Beechworth following positions offered at the local secondary college, with Mr Pedersen now a mentor for university students undertaking the CEP program at the school.
“It's always nice for kids in the country to have teachers who have lived in Melbourne, Canberra or Sydney as we have done too or have overseas experience as we lived in Stockholm as well,” he said.
“It brings that experience into the classroom.”
Melbourne University student Katie Darrington said a main motivator for a CEP placement arose from experience in her early years attending a rural primary school in the coastal town of Portarlington, near Geelong.
“It was a massive culture shock because I had been at a school in a Melbourne suburb and I felt out of place, unaware of my surroundings and unprepared,” she said.
“I thought, if I'm going into a degree where I would be dealing with lots of different kids from many backgrounds, it was important to understand a placement from another lens.”
Ms Darrington said she found Beechworth a charming town.
“It was peaceful, quiet and a completely different lifestyle to what it’s like in the inner-city suburbs,” she said.
“I thought I would be placed in a coastal town, but I'm glad that I have been able to have the experience in Beechworth.”
She said a position in the country would be considered having gained wider experience as a participant in the exciting two-week CEP program undertaken at Beechworth Secondary College.
Meg Lyons has lived in Melbourne for five years as the family had shifted to different places when she was a youngster such as in Brisbane, Eltham and Geelong.
“The sense of community in Geelong made it such a great experience as a student that I've always wanted to see the other side of it as a teacher,” she said.
“I've always considered regional, and I was excited to take this opportunity to test the waters and it's definitely something that I would like to do.”
Eunice Kou spent most her life living in cities and was curious about people living in a country town.
“I moved to Melbourne from China in 2017, had undertaken my junior high school in China, and then senior years 10, 11 and 12 in Melbourne," she said.
She said education and lifestyles between both counties were quite different with the regional experience at Beechworth Secondary College adding another dimension.
Mr McLay said arrangements are made for PSTs to undertake placements as a group and house them together for a collegial experience as well.
“A wellbeing mentor’s role reflective of rural life is a critical part of the program and is the point of difference with our programs,” he said.
CEP’s Stephanie Garoni has a role as a community mentor to ensure students feel well supported.
“Students may not end up teaching in a rural school but may return to university or be in a community where they talk about a great experience that could spark interest for others,” Mr McLay said.
“Students can teach before finishing their qualification with the ‘permission to teach’ as well."
Mr Pedersen said teaching in the country offered a great lifestyle choice.
“As a teacher, you can live anywhere and live the best life that you can live and that's why I'm so passionate about country teaching,” he said.
“It’s about community connection as well.”
College principal Patricia Broom said the program offered future planning and proofing for teaching employment.
“It’s exciting to go somewhere different and for me the program is supporting education and students,” she said.
