DescriptionThis interview consists of one audio recording and transcript. Chris Ryan was interviewed on 11 November 2005 at the Whitlam Library, Cabramatta by Shirley Kingsford McLeod. Interview SummaryThe interview begins with Chris outlining his early life: he was born in 1952 in Sydney, and grew up in western Sydney. He attended Guildford Public School and then Fairfield Boys High School. His father was a mechanical engineer while his mother worked at odd jobs to provide further income to support the family. Chris is of mixed heritage; his father is Irish while with mother is combined Singhalese and Scottish heritage.
Chris describes his time at both Guildford Public School and Fairfield Boys High School. There were over 800 students at his high school, with large class sizes that were graded. Chris was usually in the A classes (the highest graded class) and this gave him the drive to succeed. He had no real ambitions after leaving school, but ultimately accepted a teaching scholarship and went to Macquarie University.
After University he worked first at Pennant Hills High School, followed by Willoughby Girls High, Canterbury Boys High and Belmore Boys High. He taught social science subjects including economics, geography and business studies.
After fourteen years of teaching Chris worked in various consultancy-advisory jobs in the Department of Education. In particular, he was involved in a program to help students from disadvantaged schools and families. This led to a legislative position. At the time of the interview Chris works in media, communications, marketing and communications with the department of education.
The interview moves to a discussion of Chris’s views on the education sector. Topics include corporal punishment, sexual abuse in schools, selective schools, extracurricular tutoring and private vs public education.
The later part of the interview asks about Chris’s personal life. His wife is also a teacher whom he met at Macquarie University. He has two daughters, one in London and one in the ADF Academy about to graduate as a naval officer. Outside of work, Chris enjoys swimming, bike riding and sailing. He admits that his workload often intrudes onto his personal time.
Near the close of the interview Chris responds to diverse topics including the changes to the history curriculum, teaching indigenous children, the impact of technology on learning and whether school uniforms are necessary.
