Ms Renuka Satianathan
I was awarded a Ministry of Education Teaching Scholarship to pursue a degree at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. I graduated with a double major in English Language & Communications and Sports Studies, first-class honours in Linguistics and later completed a Master of Applied Linguistics at the same university. While my honours thesis focused on the development of Singlish and evolving attitudes to it, it was especially enriching to work closely with professors whose work focused on preserving Aboriginal Australian languages with dwindling speaking numbers and even on the revival of Hebrew in Israel. The intersection between language, power, identity and culture was something that I relished exploring.
After completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Education at the National Institute of Education in 2012, I began my teaching career in a junior college, teaching General Paper and Project Work. While I was trained in NIE to teach English Language and Mathematics at secondary schools, I was very happy to be in the General Paper classroom as I believed then (and still do today) in the ideals of the subject. I love bringing the world into the classroom and prompting students to challenge long-held assumptions and beliefs held by individuals and societies. My greatest joy comes in seeing students develop or deepen interest in an issue and then sharing this with their peers. The ability of this subject to help students become perceptive, empowered and compassionate citizens of the world inspires to go into class each day.
Outside of academia, my experiences in school and university sports teams opened countless opportunities and helped forge life-long friendships. It has made me a strong advocate of supporting my students in their quest to pursue their passions outside the curriculum as these are an integral part of finding purpose, joy and meaningful connections in their lives.
I am grateful and excited to be part of the Eunoia Junior College teaching community, one that fosters intellectual curiosity, as well as the pursuit of passion and empathy in each student. I look forward to learning from my students as I work with them in order to best guide them to bravely embrace the many opportunities available to them as they forge fulfilling lives that make an impact on their communities.