Written by: Fayroz Mohamed, Edited by: Jeeya Mahajan
Photograph by: Luna Al Hammouri
Today we interviewed Mrs. Murphy to get to know her better! As you know, Mrs. Murphy is the new head of secondary so we wanted to know her. We asked her some questions to get to know her!
Where are you from?
Mrs. Murphy is originally Irish, she was born in Ireland and when she was around 11 years old her parents immigrated to Australia. And that’s where they are now!
What are your hobbies?
Did you know that Mrs. Murphy struggled to fit time for hobbies but, once upon a time she used to play field hockey? Unfortunately, she hurt her knee and she couldn’t play that for a while. She does like running, reading, travelling, and socializing with friends!
If you were a teacher what subject would you teach?
Guess what… Mrs. Murphy is actually a teacher. She teaches history!
What grade do you teach?
Mrs. Murphy likes all grades. She really enjoys the younger grades like 6 or 7 because "you still get that sort of energy, fun and passion". She also does like the older grades as well because it also allows one to have more serious conversations and it allows you to get into the depth of things.
Have you ever taught before?
In the school that Mrs. Murphy left, she was the vice principal there, she was teaching grade 6, grade 9 and grade 10! She was teaching history. She enjoyed being in the classroom though because when you're in the position she’s in now, you're in meetings after meetings after meetings and you're constantly running around solving problems, so she does miss teaching.
Do you think being the head of secondary takes more responsibility than being a teacher?
"That’s a really tough question!" Mrs. Murphy really wanted to say yes but on the other hand she really wanted to say no. She wanted to say yes because the whole secondary is at risk, but then on the other hand when you’re a teacher in a classroom you have 25-26 students life’s in your hand, and that is really important as well. "So the honest answer will be that the both are just as important, but they have different importance".
When you're a teacher, the future of your students is at risk and that is really important because you have to do the right thing, but when you're the head of school, the future of the students is also at risk but you’ve also got the staff taking care of you, and ensuring that everything is in line.
Would you rather be a science teacher or an arts teacher?
"Oh boy! I would probably say science", not because she prefers science more than art but just that she really struggles to draw, so Mrs. Murphy doesn't think that she could really make a good art teacher! She doesn't think that she could make a good science teacher either but if she had to choose, she’d pick science.
Is there anything you would like to change about the school?
Mrs. Murphy would like to change bad habits, she knows that bad habits are in every school in the world, and it’s not the teachers fault. "It's not the students fault, it’s not the school's fault". What she means, for instance, is going to the bathroom during class times; she’s not saying that students should not go to the toilet, she's referring going to the toilet to chat with your friends for around 20 minutes. "So yes, go to the toilet, do what you need to do and go back to your class".
If you could go back to the past, what time would you go to?
"Oh that’s tricky!" Mrs. Murphy is a history teacher so she loves the past. She thinks she might go to the 14 or 15 hundreds where the world was just starting to open up.
What was your favorite subject when you were younger?
Mrs. Murphy used to love history, she thinks it’s probably because she had a really influential history teacher, and because of him, she became a history teacher. She also used to like design, she used to love going to the workshop to create stuff. But mostly, history was her most favorite subject when she was younger.
When you were younger, had you ever imagined being a teacher?
Mrs. Murphy remembered when she was very little she wanted to be a vet. She thinks "every kid wants to be a vet for some reason" and then she realised that it would be really hard for her seeing hurt animals so she didn’t like that idea. After that, she really wanted to be a police officer, and she remembered when she was in Grade 10, her dad told her that she has the opportunity to go to university and that she had to get a degree, so she thought of either teaching or nursing, but then she knew that she can’t stand the site of blood so she went for teaching!
What is your favorite food?
Mrs. Murphy said roast chicken and roast potatoes with vegetables. "I would personally say that a roast meal is very traditional, but it’s yummy though"!
What is your least favorite food?
"Probably tripe", Mrs. Murphy’s parents used to give it to her when she was growing up. "Because it was a line of the stomach of sheep or cows, it felt like rubber band in your mouth, and you had to cut them into the smallest little pieces because you couldn’t chew it or swallow it, and it was awful". So, that would probably have to be her least favorite food.
That was it for the interview! I personally had fun interviewing Mrs. Murphy and getting to know her better! Mrs. Murphy is a really funny person and she is really nice. When Mrs. Murphy was answering the questions, her answers were really funny and they were truthful!
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