As the saying goes, you're never too old to learn new tricks!
Australia as they say is the land of opportunities (kung hindi ka maarte, okay?) and I am taking advantage of what is available for me, hoping that it in the future it will be of use to me and my family.
Even back in Manila, I have always dreamed of putting up my own pre-school. That was the reason why I actually took Educational Administration for my Master's degree. But destiny intervened and we migrated here and that plan was put aside.
I was blessed to have been able to still practice the same profession as I had in Manila and it was also an opportunity for me to study the ropes of the trade. In our almost five years of stay here I have learned that they are stricter when it comes to your training and the work you're after. Unlike in Manila, where you can teach even if your course is not related to teaching, here you can't. Much more when you deal with smaller kids.
Sa atin, kahit ang layo ng kurso mo, kung gusto mo mag-teacher, go! Kung gusto mo magtayo ng pre-school (syempre dapat may pera ka) kahit kulang ang qualifications mo o wala kang ni isang kurso sa early childhood, go pa rin! Dito hindi. BAWAL.
They take your training seriously. Ako nga, Educ graduate na, hindi pa rin pwede magturo sa elementary unless mag-aaral ulit ako ng Teaching in Primary School (nakakturo ako kasi tinignan nila yung seven years teaching experience ko sa grade school).
Back to my blog. To make the long story short, I have reignited that dream of mine to hopefully put up my own pre-school (and childcare) in the future. You always have a guaranteed clientele for childcare here as nanny or yayas are not really part of the culture. In Sam's childcare alone, there are already 5 unborn kids who are on the wait list! Yes, unborn kids! With the standard of living getting higher every year many parents have no other choice but to work and that is when childcare centres goes into the picture. There is really a need in chidcare especially in our area where there is a boom in real estate!
Thankfully, both my undergrad and Masters' degree were validated and were accredited as to being comparable to Australian degrees. Now I only need to work on my early childhood qualifications. This is the reason why I decided to pursue a Diploma on Early Childhood Education and Care.
It took me a couple of years to muster enough strength to actually do it. It took a lot of emails and researches, comparisons, and inquiries to different schools and providers. I am not just sure if my timing is right as now my plate is already full because as I start with this, we are also very busy with the home project.
I chose to do the course through online study. It will be my first to do online studies and after 3 weeks, I can say that I still have to establish a routine or a style that will be most effective for me. I have three years to finish the course. I am hoping that I could finish that before the deadline.
Thankfully, I didn't have to shell out a single centavo as I am qualified with the government aid, being an Australian citizen. I can study now and pay later, as soon as my annual salary reaches their cap. At this point, I am still not worried because if I continue to work as a casual, I am safe of having to start the repayments to the government. So even if we have started with the mortgage payments, I can safely say that it will still not add to our expenses.
Finishing it in three years' time does not mean I will already leave the teaching force in the big schools. Putting up a childcare here is costly, no make that very costly! I plan to make baby steps. But as for now, I'll just take it one subject at a time.
You might ask, why study again when I can already teach here? Well, as I've said, when I'm much older, I wouldn't want to still be inside the classroom. I want to see myself and my career evolve. I hope to have moved on from teaching to doing the admin work, more of the person behind the curtains.
Big dreams? Yes. I see nothing wrong with it. It's worth a try, right? Libre mangarap. At least when I'm there, I can confidently say that I am ready to cross the bridge.
Keeping the faith!
