The Not-So-Secret Diary of a Teacher
I am Dr. Katriona O’Sullivan, a resilient memoirist and psychologist, who has defied poverty, addiction, and homelessness to earn a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and be an amazing academic working in in Maynooth University. My debut book, “Poor” chronicles my journey from hardship to hope.
My alarm goes off…
In my head, I am old now and do not need an alarm, my body wakes up every day at 6.30 am and it takes me about 30 minutes to get out of the bed!
I am responsible for…
My family- their health and happiness is my priority. I am responsible for my students in the STEM Passport for Inclusion, ensuring they get the best chance to learn- and know how amazing they are. I am responsible for my attitude to life too.
My typical day...
I wake up, browse my social media- check my emails- before I have even gotten out of my bed! Then I check my calendar to see what I have on. Most days I have meetings on teams with my STEM passport team (I manage 5 people in Maynooth University) or I might be meeting with my book agent, or with people who want me to come and talk to them about my story. I try to write for at least 30 minutes a day- I am currently writing a fiction story and another memoir- so try to be consistent with this. I always get home for 5pm so I can make the dinner (or buy it) and me and my husband Dave and the 2 lads- Sean and Tadhg – can eat together. I love tv at night- I am on the last season of greys anatomy so at night I watch as much of that as I am allowed.
The best part of my job is...
I love my students, I love teaching people things, I love being able to witness a shift in peoples understanding of a topic. The best part of being a lecturer is the students and getting to be part of their journey. I am so privileged that I get to work with students in DEIS schools- these are the most talented kids- so it is always great to be part of their journey.
The most challenging part of my job is…
Managing relationships and being told no! I have high standards for myself and for others, which can often mean I am disappointed. I am trying to push the system to change, to make it fairer for poorer children to do well, this means being told no- a lot. This is challenging for me. But I am learning how to manage this. I also find it hard to be myself sometimes- I curse, a lot, and am direct- you can’t really do that in my job- so I am always being mindful about being myself- that is hard.
What education means to me is…
The ability to see the world critically. It is the greatest gift we can offer a person. The capacity to reflect, to hold information- compare facts- search for truth. These things are wonderful, and allow a person find who they are. For me education changed my whole life- and my whole families life. It took me out of poverty- not just financial poverty- but also poverty of thought.
I am inspired by…
People who never give up. I have met so many wonderful people this last year- women who are raising families, trying to work, trying to educate themselves, trying to heal themselves. These women inspire me.
My number 1 tip for teachers is…
Always believe in your student’s capability to achieve- irrespective of how they act. We all want to be good; some just find it harder- my advice is to try to remember that potential is equality distributed- opportunity and family stability is not!
My favourite teaching & learning strategy is…
To teach them something and then get them to teach me it. In my class this is easier- as my students are older- an example of this is when I teach attachment theory. In order to test their learning I get them to add a song to a Spotify folder that they think best represents an attachment style- then in class we play the songs and I get them to tell me why they picked it. I give out a prize for the best song. This is a great way to check that they know the topic- and can apply it. And we get to listen to music for an hour or two.
After work…
I like to relax. I am not very adventurous, work makes me tired, so I like dinner with the family- tv and rest.
The motto I live by…
Be kind, always be kind.
A huge thank you to Katriona for sharing her not-so-secret diary. If you haven’t read Katriona’s book “Poor” yet, please do. It is such an important read for teachers.
Would you like to share your diary or like to suggest a teacher, principal, SNA or education professional whose diary you would like to read?!
Contact us at info@rahoo.ie to nominate yourself or someone else – ah go on!
Go on, go on, go on!
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