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FACULTY OF EDUCATION

THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

I chose to become a teacher because in the 1950s, the

choices for women were office work, nursing, teaching and maybe

university study if your family could afford that. I had received an

academic education at secondary school and Teachers’ College

students were paid in those days, so it seemed a desirable

profession to join. I found that I enjoyed working with older children

and valued the interaction with colleagues in a big school. I still

have contact with some of my intermediate school students,

especially from a top ability class I taught for two consecutive years.

In retrospect, I found that, in teaching, there were opportunities

for promotion and there were always new things to explore –

new maths, curriculum changes, open plan schools etc. It was

stimulating.

It’s 1968 at an Intermediate school and I have been back into

full-time teaching for two years after nine years looking after our

three children, aged 5 years, 7 years and 10 years, and doing an

odd bit of relieving teaching.

Here is my typical day:

8am:

Park on the road (no staff car park) and shepherd three

children into my classroom to play with their toys (kept in my

cupboard) until it’s time for them to go down the adjoining path to

their primary school.

First job:

Record the day’s programme on the blackboard. It is

an intermediate school so there could be art or manual classes

scheduled or an official school assembly. Today there will be Art

from 1.30–2.30pm, taken by the specialist Art teacher.

maths, spelling list, language assignment.

speech and a notice to go home about our projected class camp.

First bell rings:

Allow the pupils into the classroom and send

the three children down to their school. Send three pupils to hoist

the school flag on the school flagpole. Check accuracy. Consult

with another teacher about an afternoon dancing practice for our

proposed cooperative social evening.

Second bell rings:

Assemble the class. Collect the homework

books. Mark the attendance register

(I have 43 pupils)

. Remind

monitors of their jobs for the day. Record the pupils’ weekly banking

for the ASB. Check the lunch orders box and send to the office.

Remind pupils to take returned books to the library at recess. Fill

in official absentee sheet and send to the office. Distribute the

class camp notices and discuss the arrangements with the pupils.

Record the names of parents who may be able to help, for later

consultation.

At last, begin the day’s programme with periods 1 and 2,

Mathematics – examples of mental arithmetic from the blackboard.

Introduce a new concept from the textbook. Go over examples on

the blackboard. Pupils who think they need more help assemble by

the blackboard for further tuition.

After recess:

Administer parts of speech test. Discuss the subject

for written expression: A day in the life of an opossum on Kawau

Island (following a class trip there). Set pupils off on assignment.

Lunchtime (12.30pm):

Supervise distribution of lunch orders.

Collect a filmstrip and projector for the afternoon Social Studies

lesson. Meet with the chorus of the Operetta for a practice.

Mark the homework books.

... and so on, throughout the day until:

3pm:

Read to the class, the next chapter of the Hobbit.

3.15pm:

Release the class with reminders about their homework

and notices.

After school:

Do the school bus duty. Meet with three children

returned from primary school.

Mark the stories collected after written expression lesson and

collect other work to take home.

My teaching story:

Judy Baird

The “Old A’s” are past students of the former Auckland College of Education.

We asked Old A’s Association committee member Judy Baird to tell us a bit about

her time as a teacher.

Judy Baird (on right) with her ‘top ability’ class