Beatrice Taylor began teaching in 1911 after just 6 weeks training. She was only 17 year old. Beatrice reflects on her experiences teaching at the outbreak of World War One, supervising classes of 70 students, and other oppressive conditions and demands of her times… 

“I felt delighted. The children were simply gorgeous… I can see them all so plainly… they were as enthusiastic as I was…

There was another teacher in the room with me. I was talking against another teacher all day and it was exhausting… the boards were all uneven with cracks between them and it was freezing…  

We were always reading and studying and you didn’t mind…‘You must have been teaching then when World War One began?’ Oh, yes! That was when the real horror began!”

Note for listeners: This episode was originally recorded for the JPL Podcast, hence the references to the JPL Podcast throughout.

For information about contributors and the JPL Podcast, as well as Journal of Professional Learning articles and Centre for Professional Learning courses, please visit our website www.cpl.asn.au/podcasts

CPL The Making of a Teacher: Starting out in 1911

CPL Podcast episodes are professional conversations around practical and important aspects of teaching and Public Education. 

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The CPL Podcast contributes to the purpose of the Centre for Professional Learning which is the professional development arm of the NSW Teachers Federation.

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