Name: Alisha Esteves

Citizenship: Canadian

Teachables: Chemistry, Math, French

Describe your experience with Leading Out?

It has always been a dream for me to teach in Australia and Leading Out made it possible. They made the process seamless and they were there every step of the way. While I was in Australia, they continued to reach out to me with contract opportunities and they were always there if I had a question or needed help. I couldn’t recommend Leading Out more!

What was your favourite classroom experience while in Australia?

My favourite “classroom” experience was going on camp with my students and being a part of their outdoor education program, we learned how to make bread in a campfire and how to go orienteering. The students also got to teach me about Australian wildlife as we saw wombats and heard kookaburras on our hike.

What was your favourite travel experience?

While living in Australia, I had the opportunity to travel to many places within and outside of the country. My favourite travel experience in Australia was feeding kangaroos at the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo in Tasmania. Another memorable travel experience was taking a Vietnamese cooking class in Hoi An, Vietnam.

Why would you recommend teaching in Australia?

From my experience, I found that there were many work opportunities in Australia. Teachers also have amazing working conditions there; they have a great salary and two-week breaks between every term (along with six weeks off in the summer). The students are also a lot of fun to teach and it is never a dull moment in class!

What advice would you give a new teacher moving to Australia?

As a substitute teacher, you are at different schools every week. Take the opportunity to talk with other teachers in the staff room and see what you can learn from them. At schools that you go to frequently, see if there are more opportunities for you to get involved or to attend a professional development seminar. Also, Melbourne is an amazing city to live in and there are always events and festivals going on, What’s On Melbourne is a good website to visit to see what’s happening.