A proactive step

(Pictured: CCE students)

When Hamish Gray finished high school he wasn’t 100% sure what he wanted to do but hoped to continue to learn and be challenged. This is precisely what happened when he enrolled in Youthworks’ Centre for Christian Education (CCE) diploma, a practical one-year course which combines theology and teaching.

His goal is to gain a greater insight into the teaching profession from a Christian perspective. Hamish is presently in the middle of his time at CCE.

“I thought it would be a really good course to learn more about ministry and education,” he says. “And even if I don’t choose one of these paths, I think it’s a really good way to start out life.”

CCE combines theological learning with actual school employment. Each week,  Hamish does two-days study at college and the other three at Trinity Grammar in Strathfield. “I’m teaching prep at Trinity, which is preschool,” he says. “It’s good. Certainly every day is different but I’m enjoying the rhythm of working.”

He says combining both college and paid work makes for a busy schedule but that it is manageable. There is support from both college lecturers and staff at school. 

Hamish believes his time at CCE is preparing him for university, and that for someone just out of school it’s a wonderful way to ease into that life.

He says it’s also been encouraging to learn more about the Bible. Thinking about things he’d previously not considered as deeply.

“It’s interesting to delve into what it looks like to be a Christian teacher, either in a Christian school or a public school,” he says. “And how you manage that, whether or not you are teaching Scripture.”

He says this is because you’re aiming for students to think critically, while sharing the Christian worldview and perspective on things.

“I remember our class being asked who our favourite teachers were?’,” he says. “The lecturer pointed out the commonality in our answers was the relationship we had with these people. They (these teachers) challenged us personally, rather than necessarily with what they taught.

“If, as Christians, we are constantly being advocates for Christ, then this will carry into what we teach. It’s about the character of a Christian and what that means in an educational  context.”

For Hamish, CCE had allowed him to go much deeper into God’s word and see how this fits in teaching:

“I think it’s strengthening the foundations which will shape my life, equipping me for the years to come.”