1. The contributions
Giving students a safe space to have their voices heard. Students still need to be validated. They develop opinions of their own and often feel like they are not being recognized. I enjoy being able to have discussions with them and giving them the space to form their identity.

2. The trends!
Keeping up to date with popular music and culture! Being a video game/anime/pop culture junkie myself, it’s fun to share stories and learn from my students!

3. The questions
You don’t know what’s going to come up that day. Yes you’re teaching your classes, but teenagers are full of questions, intrigue, and often want to know more!

4. The variety
My day is never the same, there’s always a project on the go, students who turn up to ask for help, or an extracurricular to run. I love that these opportunities provide me with the privilege to work and interact with students that I don’t teach. It’s nice to be able to do something different to the subject that you teach, and High Schools offer so many opportunities for this with all of their Extra-Curricular activities.

5. The fresh opportunities
Every new academic year presents a fresh opportunity to address a different issue and tackle it from an entrepreneurial perspective where students not only design solutions that really make a difference, but learn valuable life skills!

6. The creativity
Designing unconventional learning spaces like a blended robotics, e-sports and a 3D and DIY lab to not only teach but to further motivate students whilst evolving the teaching and learning experience with the realities of the world.

7. The ah-ha moments
Sometimes we spend a few weeks on a topic, and students get hung up on what they’re doing, maybe they don’t fully understand, but then comes that ah-ha moment when a week’s worth of learning clicks and in that moment they finally understand everything that’s happening. Those moments are gold.

8. The collaborations
Every year we get to work with different agencies based on the needs of the students in our classes. I’m learning that my learning is never done. I love learning new things, and giving myself a new challenge so this is an awesome part of my job.

9. The teaching
Most high school teachers studied teaching because they enjoy working with teenagers. I love teaching my subject matter to my students, but at the same time, they’re always teaching me. They challenge me to find new ways to describe concepts, asking why something is the way it is, or just wanting to know more.

10. The relationships
Not only are the relationships that I have with my students amazing, but I think that high school teachers are really an awesome bunch of people. I love that I work with such talented, competent, and hilarious people.a