EPeeps Sarah Kippen | Teacher Consultant

My friends call me Skip. I grew up in Bendigo, which is on Dja Dja Warrung Country in central Victoria. I moved to Canberra to go to university and ended up staying for 22 years, teaching English and History at a few schools in the capital before settling into a role as a Parliamentary Educator at Australian Parliament House.

When Covid hit, I realised that I wanted to be closer to my family – absence really does make the heart grow fonder – so I started looking for a job in Victoria. I knew a little bit about Education Perfect and the more I researched the company, the more I realised that it would be a good fit for me and I would be a good fit for it. Working with teachers has always been one of my favourite things to do, and the teacher focus at EP, along with the quality of the platform, is what attracted me to the company. Now that I’m here I am really enjoying spending time supporting teachers and, as a bonus, the team of EPeeps both locally and globally are amazing. 

There isn’t really a typical day in my role as a Teacher Consultant. I might start with a cup of tea at my computer at home in Melbourne or rushing out the door to spend the day at a school or a conference. I spend a lot of time in the car, which gives me time to listen to audiobooks. I like to listen to a mix of fiction and nonfiction. Recent favourites include Ash by Melinda Lo – a queer retelling of Cinderella – and A Life on our Planet by David Attenborough. I’m addicted to trivia and try to get out to pub trivia nights as often as I can (hit me up if you need a trivia team member, I’m great at history and literature). On the weekends I spend time with my family or go hiking with the Melbourne Women’s Walking Club or Women Want Adventure. 

I still think of myself as a teacher and I’m still in contact with previous teaching colleagues and past students. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that my students have lives that they love and that they occasionally remember my lessons with fondness.

As an English teacher, I love puns, but I’m also a bit of a space nerd. As a result my favourite joke is: Have you heard my review of Orion’s belt? Big waist of space. Three stars.

My personal motto is “context is everything”. From understanding a poem to understanding the people around you, context matters. My hope for the future is that I’ll continue being able to work with teachers because I believe that they are the most important element of education and that education is the greatest force for good in the world.