As a child, Ryan Shaw would sit on the veranda of his parents’ family home in the Yarra Valley and, using a field guide to Australian birds as a reference, would note down every bird he saw.
Bird lovers like Mr Shaw (pictured) are often called ‘twitchers’ in the United Kingdom, but at primary school he was simply called Bird Boy.
Now a Mill Park Secondary College teacher, he says he has always loved animals and his pathway to teaching came about while studying a bachelor of science, majoring in zoology, at the University of Melbourne. He then completed a masters in environmental science.
It was while researching effects of climate change and population growth on the environment that he realised scientists couldn’t slow the effects of global warming as effectively as teachers.
“I realised that the overarching things impacting the environment were humans.”
On a friend’s recommendation, Mr Shaw enrolled in Teach for Australia, a two-year program for academics that had him teaching in disadvantaged schools while undertaking teacher training at Deakin University.
He now works at the college’s Epping senior campus, teaching science, environmental science and outdoor education. The 26-year-old has introduced ‘mindful meditation’ into most middle-school years and started yoga and tea ceremony groups at the senior campus.
And he challenges students to think critically, beyond the syllabus. His contribution will be marked at next Monday’s World Teachers’ Day.
