Your stories: Danny

Meet Danny, the teacher who transformed his life and found joy in helping students

Nurturing vulnerable kids requires sensitivity, patience and care. For high school teachers like Danny, self-care is an essential piece of the process.

Danny highlights how even fleeting moments of connection can be meaningful to students

Leaving high school, no one would have believed Danny would go on to be a teacher. Least of all himself. “I was one of those kids who hated school,” he says. “I wanted nothing to do with it. I hung around being a rat bag and a nuisance!”

Emerging disillusioned and directionless, he drifted into a “bunch of lousy jobs” before deciding enough was enough. After much soul-searching, he decided uni was the conduit to better things. So, he knuckled down and did the work to get there.

It was much later – completing a marine biology degree – that he realised helping first-year students was more rewarding than his own studies. This was when he discovered his true vocation.

Catalyst for change

Today, Danny chooses to work with students from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds. Those whose basic needs aren’t being met may be struggling to function in a school setting, let alone have bandwidth for learning. There’s no sugarcoating the fact this can be tough. But Danny wouldn’t swap it for the world.

“There’s always a little shining beacon,” he says. “The kid who never has their head up looks at you and smiles; that’s a win. It means you've made a connection with someone who’s thoroughly disengaged and doesn’t have a positive connection with anyone else at school.

“You have to pay attention to those moments. Because with a million other things going on in the classroom it’s easy to miss them.”

Carpe diem for lasting effects

Sometimes this approach can be life changing. Like a Year 11 student who was ready to give up school and join her mum as a cleaner. A casual chat led to more targeted conversations and she’s now studying psychology (one of Danny’s subjects) at Uni, on her way to becoming a therapist.

Danny lights up as he describes the periodic email updates on her progress, and her sense of wonder exploring the workings of our minds.

“If I’d chosen to ignore her that day or just left her alone … who knows what would've happened?”, he muses.

Creating boundaries

His work is unquestionably meaningful, but this type of empathy and engagement can take a lot out of you. So how does Danny maintain his own wellbeing?

“Some of it is just heartbreaking,” observes the father-of-two. “I’ll be on my way home from work digesting and processing it all. Then you have to detach and say: ‘this is my family time – no school stuff’.”

Over 18 years in the job, he’s learned to focus on the positives: “You’ve got to find and embrace them. And remember why you took on teaching in the first place”.

“I like that it’s not routine or mundane. Every day is vastly different. You never know what's going to happen. Each lesson will be very different too. I like that challenge.”

Self-care strategies

Outside of work, Danny covers fundamentals like nutrition, sleep and exercise. His mental wellbeing philosophy is equally simple, but effective. “It sounds kind of corny, but I try to enjoy the small things. Like looking at the sunset and appreciating it. You have to take those small moments in amongst all the complexity of what you're doing and the world we're in.”

And it’s certainly working for him. “I enjoy being here, he says. “If I won the lotto tomorrow, I'd probably still turn up!”

The educational ecosystem’s gain

Danny’s story has inspired us in many ways. We’re sharing it because his insights may be useful to anyone in the education community. His situation may reflect your own challenges, or his strategies may be transferable to entirely different scenarios. He might simply provide reassurance that you’re not alone. Either way, we can be sure that in his case marine biology’s loss has been education’s gain.

Why private health insurance matters to Danny

For Danny, having private health insurance is about peace of mind. As he puts it, “it’s just nice to know it’s there if I need it. If I’m walking home and slip on the pavement, rip my knee or something, I know I’m going to get looked after. It’s not going to turn into a nightmare like it sometimes can in the public system.”

Danny says having cover also gives him security for his family. “It gives me comfort and security, especially with my kids. My daughter’s 19 and still included on the cover, and it’s reassuring to know there’s help for her if she needs it too.”

At Teachers Health, we understand that peace of mind matters – for you and your family. That’s why we’re here for the education community, supporting members like Danny when it counts.

Learn more about joining Teachers Health.