About Me
Hi, I'm Danni!
I am the founder of Authentic Learning Australia, based in Mandurah and Peel, and I would love to tell you a bit about myself! Grab a coffee…or something a little stronger, and join me for storytime…
First and foremost, I am a Mum! My son Tyler is my absolute world! Being a parent is a beautiful journey filled with love, growth, and joy. It can also be challenging and exhausting, but the unconditional love and bond you share with your child, I’m sure you can agree, is like no other.
From one mum to another, I completely understand the joys and challenges of parenthood and wanting to make sure your child has everything they need to succeed, to thrive and above all else, to be happy in life.
My Training
I have undergone extensive training in many different areas that enables me to provide a holistic approach to education. I am a qualified teacher. I have a Bachelor of Education in both Primary and Early Childhood Education. I also have a Diploma in Community Services; Childcare, a Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and a range of certificates and training in Nursing, Aged Care, Childhood Trauma and the Effects on the Brain and Learning, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Literacy, Reading Development, Emotional Regulation in ASD Students and other Neurodiverse Children, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Integrating STEM and project based learning, Childhood Anxiety, Emotional Dysfunction and Regulation, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health and Wellbeing. Most recently, I have studied to become a Life Coach. What can I say, I love learning! All up, I have over 20 years experience in the Community Services and Education field.
But let me get real with you for a moment.
I hated school. That’s right, I said it. I was the kid at school who didn’t want to be there. Everyone else seemed to grasp the content easily while there I was having an absolute panic attack in the back of the class just hoping with all my might that I wouldn’t be chosen to answer a question in front of the class. I would fake written notes from my Mum and pretend to have no voice just so I didn’t have to read in front of the class…I was great at reading, in fact English was my strongest subject! It got to the point I started wagging school in High School just so I didn’t have to deal with the possibility of being called upon to answer a question in class…even if I did know the answer, it was irrelevant. By the time I was in my second year of high school, I was done.
At 14, I walked into the guidance counsellor’s office and begged to go on work experience. I think they let me because they knew I would just walk out the door if they said no. I was headstrong, and stood by my beliefs even back then. I wasn’t a bad kid, I just hated school! I wanted to learn, I love learning even to this day but unfortunately the way I learn and the way they taught, didn’t match and so I began to fall through the gaps . Thankfully, I was granted permission to go on work experience. I completed two weeks in a Child Care Centre and my life changed. Two weeks turned into four weeks which turned into a traineeship. I was free!
I enrolled in the School of Isolated and Distance Education and completed the rest of my schooling from home, while working full time in a Childcare Centre, completing a traineeship and attending College. It was awesome!! I finally felt like I belonged and thrived in this field. I showed up early, I stayed late, I was passionate and eager to learn absolutely everything!
I went on to a complete my Diploma in Children’s Services and worked my way up to a Director of a Child Care Centre before deciding it was not enough, I needed more. I also needed better hours for my son and teaching felt like the right step to take next. So, I enrolled in teaching at university which led me to where I am today.
Why would I want to be a teacher when I hated school?
Two reasons; first and foremost, so I would be there for my son growing up, I will do anything for him! Secondly, so I could help more children. I never wanted another child to hate school like I did. It is that simple.
The only way I could see myself making any real type of change was to be in the driver’s seat. Become the teacher. My sole aim in the classroom was for children to realise and truly believe that they are capable of anything they set their mind to. Until they had the right mindset, I couldn’t teach them a thing academically, nothing beyond surface level at least. It all starts in the mind.
During my teaching career, we laughed, we danced, we told jokes, and of course, we learnt lots but we had FUN doing it! I did a spelling test standing on a table once pretending to be a pirate. That was pretty stock standard stuff for me. Those kids aced their spelling tests every week. They had no fear of failing, and they knew even if they did fail it is part of learning; it is needed to progress forward in life and definitely not something to be ashamed or scared of! When students truly believed that it takes courage to push past fear and have a go, the most amazing things happened. Even the quietest, most reserved student would start speaking up, and when someone got the answer ‘wrong’ their classmates would clap and celebrate their braveness for having a go, no one was laughed at, no one felt bad, everyone wanted to be brave and courageous! The confidence and bravery that I saw develop in children was nothing short of absolutely amazing! Naturally, their academic learning outcomes also improved.
So how did I get here?
It was a long time coming. Truth be told, I never planned to be a teacher. When I worked in Childcare, the thought of teaching in school went against all of my beliefs about best practice and how children learn best. But life has a funny way of happening for you and I believe to my core that every experience in my life has led me to where I am today. Life happens for you, not to you and I am forever grateful for the career and experiences I have had.
I loved a lot of aspects of my teaching career but there was a lot I didn’t love. The classroom teaching time was about 30% of the job. The biggest issue I struggled with was seeing children fall between the gaps, no matter how hard I worked, no matter how many hours, strategies, training, planning and resources I put into place, some children would still fall through the gaps and in my honest opinion, one is one too many and it is simply not acceptable.
Teaching in schools served its purpose and I am grateful for the experience. I now take from my days in the school system, what I believe to be best practice and I arrive at my new destination, at Authentic Learning Australia. A place where I truly get to teach the way I believe children should be taught, that is, in a way that they connect with, understand and create meaning from, whatever way that may be, that’s how I teach.
