A love of teaching
Judith Urry has been a teacher for nearly 30 years, and for most of her career she has focused on teaching new entrants, helping them to get the best start to their schooling. She tells us about why she loves teaching our youngest primary schoolers and what she has learned through teaching.
I grew up in England, Australia, and New Zealand. We moved to New Zealand to live in Wellington when I was 12.
Why did you choose to study at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington?
I chose to study at university in Wellington because there was a great School of Music and I wanted to study there. I also didn’t have any need or particularly want to move from Wellington at that stage.
What did you study?
I initially studied for a Bachelor of Music at Te Herenga Waka and then did a Graduate Diploma of Teaching at Wellington College of Education in Karori.
How would you describe your student experience?
I enjoyed my time at university but didn’t really choose to get very involved in student activities at University. I was happy studying and working part-time to fund my living costs.
What’s your strongest / best memory of studying at the university?
Eating large slabs of chocolate cake and drinking filter coffee with friends at the Rec Centre Cafe. Learning to play Gamelan.
What turned out to be the most useful thing you learnt at university?
Learning the practical skills of teaching through learning them myself. I remember spending lots of time in the art rooms learning how to teach art by experiencing being a learner. I also found the course where I learnt to use the photocopier really useful!
Where did your degree take you—tell me a bit about your career.
I have been teaching in primary schools ever since I finished my study in Wellington. I have taught in New Plymouth, Wellington, and in England. I have experienced many different schools and have been a classroom teacher, team leader, senior teacher, and deputy principal. I have also worked as a SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator), supporting students with diverse needs in school.
You’ve mainly concentrated on teaching the youngest children as they start primary school – what do you love about teaching that age group?
I love the wide-eyed wonder of 5-year-olds and how they show so much excitement for learning. I enjoy working with parents and making sure that a child’s first experience of school set them up for success for the rest of their schooling. Learning is very fast and visible when children start school and it is wonderful to see how quickly they learn new things and make progress. Young children also have an amazing view of the world and how it works. Their ideas are so creative and original, and I love how they share their thinking without having any fear of being right or wrong.
What has been an innovation you’ve made in your teaching practice that made a massive difference to the students?
Over the last 10 years, I have been developing my teaching to allow children time to learn through a more explorative, investigative, and playful approach to learning. I am still tweaking my teaching but love how it gives children the opportunity to really develop their own thinking, share their ideas, explore with materials and develop connections in their learning to the real world. I have spent some time recently working and studying in the early childhood sector to learn more about teaching the whole child rather than seeing learning as academic progress. I have learnt so much from my ECE colleagues and am in awe in what they do with our youngest learners to support their learning and wellbeing.
What is your current job, and what do you enjoy about it?
I am currently one of the Associate Principals at Northland School in Wellington. I also teach Year 0/1 and love the challenge of being a leader in the school while still being really immersed in classroom teaching. Teaching children really grounds me, and I love being with my class and learning alongside them every day.
Judith Urry has a Bachelor of Music and a Diploma of Teaching.