Scott Campbell

ECE teacher

Scott chose early childhood teaching as a career for a variety of reasons - the many opportunities available for employment, the hours were more flexible than primary teaching and because “you get to have a life after hours.”  He was accepted for two of the four jobs he applied for and feels that’s partly a reflection of the scarcity of male early childhood teachers these days.

Although some of Scott’s friends initially expressed surprise when he told them he was going to become an early childhood teacher, he has received a great deal of support for his career decision.

“My family said they’d support me doing whatever made me happy and as the only male student in my teacher education class, I found my lecturers and fellow students always most supportive.”

Scott sees himself as a regular sort of guy who likes surfing, snowboarding, going out for a beer with mates, and finds people are really keen to find out more about his job once they get past the initial ‘double take’ reaction.

“I tell them about the cool things I get to do most days like making paper planes and doing things that really get kids going.”  Scott enjoys the physical nature of the job and getting to do ‘all sorts of ridiculous things with the kids.’

Now in his second year of teaching, Scott says it has been a really worthwhile step to take.  “Early childhood teaching is one of the coolest things to do as you have loads of opportunities to teach and interact with kids, rather than just tick boxes and spend time doing administration.  You’re also doing a job where you can see results for your efforts and you’re putting something back into your community and country.”