Foreword

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Bilbo Baggins, The Lord of the Rings

The first question I was asked when started my teaching degree was simply: Why do you want to become a teacher? Some of us didn't know. Many of us shared a sentiment that we wanted to help people. Myself? Back then, the best answer I could provide was that I could see myself in no other setting -- school was where I felt I belonged.

Naive as it was, the six crucial years I spent in secondary school were filled with development and redevelopment of identity, discovering new horizons and coming to terms with self and society. It was also a painful experience in many aspects, an ordeal that has shaped who I have become. Why would I want to go back to a place I desperately wanted to move from?

My decision to become a teacher has taken me years to justify. Now in my final year of teaching, I have chosen this time to look back at where I came from and where I see myself in the near and distant future -- as a student, as a teacher, and as myself.

I wish to thank Libby Tudball, Graham Parr and my other dedicated lecturers at Monash University for bringing out the best (and worst) aspects of teaching, as well as inspiring my colleagues to do what we wanted to do: teach.