IT was not the career I had in mind...

If I had to choose a different job I would definitely choose something to do with technology, but if I was asked that question fifteen years ago my response would probably have been different.  I had my first job interview when I was 21, the second and probably the last one when I was 23.  I’ve changed jobs more than a couple of times in the last twenty years from media to education and I believe now I’m quite settled in technology.  Being the first female to head the IT Services Section at the Ministry of Education I feel privileged, more honoured, because it was not the career I had in mind.

When I graduated with a degree in education, all I wanted was to be in a classroom with my students.   When I look back at the time when I was a teacher, what we had to work with compared to what we have now, what we can use in the classroom, I’d say teaching has come a long way.  I still enjoy teaching, although I’m more involved with professional development and teacher training there’s a part of me that still wants to be in the classroom.  My greatest joy now I would say is seeing the satisfaction of a teacher who has tried a new technique with her class and has succeeded in motivating her students.  I am happier when I know that the students have enjoyed the lesson, because they have learned twice as much as my students did 15 years ago.

When I started my teaching career there wasn’t much technology used in lessons or lesson preparation. In 2000 when I moved to my first secondary school as an English teacher, the IT departments in schools were being set up and I remember at that time the person in charge of the department at my school was planning to move.  I was offered the opportunity to head the department.  With little knowledge of computing anyone in my shoes back then would have refused.  For some reason I was intrigued by technology and I suppose that’s what drove me to where I am today.

The opportunity to completely change career direction came when I was offered a transfer to the IT Section at the Ministry of Education.  It meant I wouldn’t be involved in teaching and it was an office job.  The offer was tempting because there were prospects and opportunities which at that time a teaching career was not offering.  I have been fortunate that I’ve had a great team of technicians to work with. The fact that I am the only woman in the IT Section does sometimes make my work difficult but I enjoy the challenge.  I look at everything with a positive attitude in my work and I enjoy learning.   

As a teacher this I believe is the best quality one can have.