By Natasha Fujimoto
AS a primary school teacher of 40 years, Meredith Hendy has devoted her time to assisting all her students to become the very best they can be.
Having once conquered academic struggles herself, Meredith imbues her own teaching with an understanding of what it takes to overcome challenges to succeed.
“I was a battler myself at school, but I had a strong network of family and friends to support me, without that balance I wouldn’t have learnt other ways to succeed without it all being about the academics.
“When I got into teaching, I suppose, I just wanted to be there for the child, to walk in their shoes and to help them realise that they can achieve, no matter what their difficulties may be,” Meredith said.
Eager to take on students who, for myriad reasons, don’t easily comply with classroom settings, Meredith said she gets a buzz out of helping kids realise their own self-worth, no matter how bumpy the road or how candid the feedback.
“I take the time to build a relationship of trust with all my students, but I am equally honest, and tough with them so that they can identify their challenges and work forward to overcome them, or work around them. That’s how they feel good about themselves and go on with confidence to learn new skills.
“When my students leave my class, I like to send them off with a strong self-belief that they can take their skills somewhere else. I want them to know that there will always be challenges and things will change, but when they have belief in what they can do and they can achieve, well that’s absolutely amazing,” Meredith said.
