About the Author
How Lindy’s surprise seventh child sparked a career change
You know those people you feel comfortable with straight away? The down-to-earth and genuine kind? That’s Lindy Jones. She’s also an integral part of a husband–wife ministry with a background in counselling and welfare, a teacher-in-training, and a mother of seven. “Well, the last two children were a surprise,” she laughs. “That’s just how it happens in my family.” She gave birth to her seventh child the day everything shut down due to COVID-19 and remembers walking out of the hospital thinking, “the world is so different.” Like many of us who struggled with the change, she wondered how she would adjust.
Lindy’s always been passionate about working with people. She’s often been told she’d make a great teacher, but becoming a teacher was not something she would do. Or would she? She started thinking that having a teaching qualification would be good not only to spend more time with her own children, but also to help other children—the ones who might be struggling—at school.
“I kind of like the messy people and the kids who’ve got baggage. And finding the calm in the storm for them.” It was the feeling of wanting to help that convinced Lindy to study teaching at a university that had similar characteristics to her: Christian, warm, friendly and welcoming. “It just felt right. The Lake Macquarie campus is a beautiful place to study.” But it was still a big and unsettling decision going back to university study. Am I really up for this? Will I look like an idiot? she wondered. But soon enough, Lindy settled into study and student life, finding the environment comfortable and the lecturers caring.
The feeling of comfort came from studying at a Christian university, which Lindy found “reassuring.” “It’s the little things that make the difference between feeling like you’re connected or not.” Little things like lecturers touching base, or sending encouraging Bible verses, or checking on her wellbeing. “It is not just nice; it helps.”
And then there’s the content she learns that’s helping prepare her for a career change. It’s relevant and practical (and is part of a course rated number one in Australia for graduate satisfaction*). Lindy can see exactly how it will help her in her future classroom. For example, one of her assessments involved putting a teaching kit together for a particular grade of students.
Understanding how to teach is important for any future teacher but especially so for someone like Lindy who wants to help in a particular way. With a background in counselling and welfare, Lindy wants to engage with children wholistically—as people—not just as students who need to learn something. Her passion for helping children and the practical skills she’s gaining will make Lindy a great teacher.
* Student Experience Survey 2019 and 2020. Visit www.compared.edu.au for more.
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