From Cattle to Classroom

Firom Cattle to Classroom is the memoir of Evelyn Dando, who was born in 1939 to financially struggling parents. Her mother had little energy and a severe hoarding disorder. It traces a childhood of droving cattle on foot and surviving long periods of isolation with no food. Birthdays and Christmases mostly went unnoticed. With no supervision, her attendance at school was intermittent, although she persevered with her education until year eleven, when an early marriage ruled out further studies.

Evelyn goes on to describe the difficulties for working women with babies in the 1950s and 60s and some of the remarkable events she experienced in her pre-teaching working life.

After having three children, Evelyn returned to study. This led to an interesting and successful career in teaching. Her memoir goes on to show the effect teaching had on her children and her remarkable rise to deputy principal in a government school, before finally detailing her second marriage and how she became principal at a small private school for teenage boys who do not fit into government schools.