Every single day I’m reminded of why I chose education as my life’s work. In a world where wealth often determines destiny, where the rich tend to get richer and the poor struggle to break free from cycles of poverty, I see education as our greatest equaliser. It’s not just a belief – it’s a truth I’ve witnessed through my own family’s story.
A Tale of Two Families
My maternal grandparents’ story never fails to inspire me. My grandfather, a carpenter by trade and a furniture make by vocational education, and my grandmother, who juggled farming and weaving, understood something profound about education. Despite their modest means, they made an extraordinary decision: their children’s education would come first. I can still hear the warmth in my mother’s voice when she speaks of her teachers, of those formative years that shaped her future. Their sacrifice paid off magnificently – my uncle became a successful businessman in construction, while my mother secured a stable career in the public sector. They broke free from the day-to-day financial uncertainty that had characterised their parents’ lives.
But I’ve also seen the other side of this coin through my paternal grandfather’s story. Despite coming from a privileged background – his father was a medical doctor – he was designated as the family farmer and pulled out of school. The impact of this decision echoed through generations. My own father’s educational journey was marked by struggle, particularly after losing his mother at a young age. When he speaks of his school days, there’s a shadow in his voice, a reminder of opportunities lost. Though he eventually found his path in the military, I often wonder how different his life might have been with better educational support.
My parents decided to do what my mother’s family modelled. They invested in my education and they always believed I can do better. Not only did they provide me with the time and space to focus on my education, but above all they empowered me with the confidence that I can achieve whatever I set my mind to achieve. Their efforts paid off academically – in my extended family, as well as in my family’s history, I was the first to achieve a doctorate. That doctorate played a crucial role in landing my first teaching job, but also armed me with transferable skills and confidence that saw me progressing my career quickly and, within fewer than five years of experience succesfuly lead my workplace’s largest curriculum area.
Why I Choose to Be an Education Leader
These contrasting stories within my own family have shown me, with crystal clarity, that education isn’t just about learning facts and figures – it’s about creating possibilities. It’s about giving children the power to dream beyond their current circumstances, to imagine futures that might seem impossible. A good education can lift families out of poverty, break cycles of limitation, and open doors that seemed forever closed. Conversely, a poor education, or lack thereof, can echo through generations, limiting potential and narrowing horizons.
This is why I work in education. Every day, I see the same hope in my students’ eyes that my grandparents saw in their children’s. Every time I empower a teacher to lead their students towards academic success I’m not just leading change – I’m helping to write the next chapter in that student’s family story. In a world of increasing inequality, education remains our most powerful tool for creating change, for levelling the playing field, and for ensuring that every child has the chance to write their own future.
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