John Shiels was awarded for 45 years of education service in Victoria.Picture: Stewart Chambers
By Lia Bichel
A DANDENONG High school teacher said he looked forward to his retirement next year after more than 45 years of service in education.
John Shiels, 64, was one of almost 250 teachers who were recognised for their outstanding commitment to government education at the recent Victorian Education Service Awards.
The Pakenham resident began his career at Traralgon High School, before working at Bright, Mildura, Kooweerup and Dandenong High School.
He was a humanities teacher before pursuing extra training to become a librarian in 1984.
“It has taught me a lot of patience, and to be tolerant of children, students and their parents,” he said. “The only time I was bored was in my second year of teaching when I was repeating the exact same thing I was doing in my first year of teaching.”
Education Minister Bronwyn Pike said the Victorian Education Service Awards were important in recognising and rewarding Victoria’s hardworking and dedicated teachers.
“The (awards) recognise our longest serving teachers who dedicate a big portion of their lives to ensuring our children learn, thrive and grow in school,” Ms Pike said.
“When many of the teachers sat in the classroom as a student years ago it would have been hard to imagine they’d spend most of the rest of their lives standing at the front of one. “Long-serving school teachers are stalwarts of our local communities and play a vital role in Victoria’s dynamic education system.”
Mr Shiels said he would take long-service leave to travel with his wife Lesley, who is a teacher at Pakenham Consolidated School, before retiring at the end of the year.
“We have been doing a lot of travelling, but will be going hiking in Scotland, hiking and cycling in England and tourists in Spain.”
