Carole Pettersson

As Co-Director of Bigger Bottom-Line LTD Carole has had many years previous experience in a wide range of business environments. She has done everything from working in the finance division of a bank, to teaching in top international schools, to copy-writing for advertising agencies in London, to climbing the corporate ladder in business strategy in Shell Oil Nigeria, to owning her own company. Her career has been a continuous journey of studying, marketing, learning & experiencing firsthand what it takes to start, grow & maintain a successful business.

Having taught at a Shell Oil school in Port Harcourt for three years (2003 – 2006), I would like to take the opportunity to apply for a position at your school in Lagos. You will also be receiving my details by recommendation from Deborah Pamment of Fieldwork, but I also wanted to make a personal application for the position.

I am aware of the cultural adjustments required to live in Africa, and I am a very experienced teacher.  My teaching experiences have stretched from New Zealand, to London, to Nigeria over the last 10 years.  I moved back to New Zealand in 2006 to start a family, and I am now ready to return to teaching in Africa which I have missed.

I am applying for a post at your school because I know that during a 2-3 year burst of input, I could definitely help to move your school forward.   I have been involved in many training sessions with Fieldwork Education during my time with Shell which has kept me at the forefront of the latest and most well researched teaching and learning strategies.  I am a trained ‘Reading Recovery’ teacher specialising in teaching reading to 5 and 6 year olds, and I have conducted well received workshops for my colleagues over the years.  I am currently teaching reception and I am a tutor teacher/mentor for newly trained teachers, to instruct on good practice in a reception classroom. During the 10 years of my teaching career I have led most curriculum areas at some stage (please refer to my CV).

While teaching in Port Harcourt I lived on the Shell Camp which was a much more restricting setting than I believe living in Lagos to be.  I had many visits to Lagos during my time in Nigeria, and I have friends with young families who have lived in the city and enjoyed it.  I would come to Nigeria fully knowing what to expect and what the limitations and hi-lights of living within an African culture can be.  My husband and two children (Rafael 4 and Eva 3) would accompany me, and I know that this would be a wonderful cultural opportunity for my children and that they would receive a quality education.