https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-i9k3y-103ce97
In this podcast episode (link above), I chat with Hayley Myerscough, who is currently studying to be a primary school teacher.
Click HERE for Accessible Transcript
We talk about her volunteer and learning experiences growing up and what fueled her passion to become a teacher. How her experiences volunteering in Girl Guides really solidified her determination to become a teacher. She says ‘volunteering allows you to see a different side of yourself that you don’t normally see and the difference you make for others’ that is motivated by voluntary rewards and not paid rewards. Hayley explains how volunteer work can help you find out what you are passionate about and what you want to do as a career. Girl Guides helped her to see what it is like to lead and to inspire and to help.
We talk about how relying on the Leaving Cert is really a form of tracking that can be detrimental for young people when you don’t get the ‘points’ to go into a career path that you really want. We talk about how getting into the professional master’s in education programme wasn’t easy for Hayley because of the Irish requirement for primary school teachers. Hayley inspires and encourages others to practice relentless perseverance and determination to pursue your dreams no matter what.
We talk about starting the initial teacher education programme right at the beginning of the Covid pandemic and the weirdness of going through a master’s level teaching programme without being able to meet and see your cohort. We chat about Hayley being an up and coming educational ‘influencer’ on Instagram as @TheTeacherStudent, and balancing her own learning experiences with teaching and encouraging others. She explains why she believes that being raw and real and giving first-hand insight on the barriers that she faced on her journey to becoming a teacher is both helpful and therapeutic. She tries to make sure that her content isn’t too wordy or complicated, but is delivered in a way that is meaningful to her followers and to provide a sense of community and belonging in a digital/online world.
Hayley is an absolute joy. Come, listen and learn.
Instagram @TheTeacherStudent
Engage - Inspire - Transform 