Featured Teacher
shouldn’t have happened, but did
against all odds. I had gotten very
ill, was very green to London culture
and state schools, and was down to
a few pennies. Nevertheless, within a
few months I had a steady job, found
a flat-share to live in, and had made
some good friends that I’m still very
close with. One is even going to be my
bridesmaid this summer! Perseverance
was what really got me through that
time and all of the other hard times
that have come since with multiple
other country moves. When I moved
to Kiev in 2012 I didn’t understand the
language, couldn’t read the alphabet
and didn’t know a soul- but I was much
better prepared because of what I had
already endured and made a success
of it.
One obstacle an international teacher
never plans for is political unrest in
their adopted country. While working
in Kiev in 2014 we were thrown into
revolution with what is now known as
“Euromaidan.” It was a scary time, not
knowing what was happening, being a
bit of an outsider as it wasn’t our battle
to fight, but also being in the thick of
it as it was unfolding on our doorstep-
literally. It made my colleagues and
I, realize how vulnerable we were as
foreigners. One positive that came
from this experience was being able
to use it as a teachable moment.
Coincidentally, I was teaching the
French revolution at the same time
and there were numerous ties we
were able to make in the classroom.
And still today, as tense and scary as
it was, it is an experience I’m proud
to have been a part of, as I watched
history being made from a front row
seat. Euromaidan will be part of a new
curriculum on revolutions and I was
there.
Share two ways in which the
work that you are currently doing
positively impacts young people.
I see young people for who they are,
faults and strengths, and I challenge
them to push out of their own comfort
zones. I teach middle school, an age
group I adore, because they are on
the cusp of young-adulthood and are
beginning to see the world without the
rose coloured glasses of childhood,
and yet they still have an innocence and
vulnerability in their understanding
of societal realities. I allow them to
say outrageous things (if it is honest)
and make mistakes, because they pick
themselves up from that moment and
learn a whole lot more than being
told what truth is if they have to put
the pieces together themselves.
One great aspect of social studies is
there are rarely wrong answers, but a
plenitude of right ones and it allows
students to ask “What if” and dive
deeper into those conundrums, that
honestly, I don’t have answers to, but
we get a better grasp of our world
around us, and we do it together.
I also push them to do things they
aren’t always comfortable with. For
example, for our current project we
have a “taking action” component
that physically gets them out into the
community utilizing the skills they’ve
learned. Some students will be starting
their own innovative garden and
recording results, others will hatch a
plan to reduce food waste and present
it during our fair, and others will be
contacting a local farmer or business
owner and interviewing them on how
they are being innovative in today’s
world. It isn’t the easy option, as it’s
taken an incredible amount of planning
and organizing on my behalf, but it is
the most useful for our kids to actually
use the skills they need for the future;
such as problem solving, planning an
inquiry, and critical thinking, as well as
pushing themselves to see what they
can achieve with a hands on approach
to modern topics of learning Social
studies.
What are you proud of?
My proudest moments are when I have
students come back to me years after
they’ve been in my class and reminisce
about what they experienced in
my class. I had a random Facebook
message from a mother a couple
of months ago. She took the time to
message me about her son, whom I
taught in my first year in Dubai 4 years
ago, who says I am his favourite teacher
because of how we approached the
learning. It’s moments like these,
random acts of kindness really, that
keep me going. Teaching is not an
easy profession- it’s an incredible
commitment if you do it properly, and
more and more is being asked of us,
almost daily, but every once in a while
you are reminded of why you got into
it in the first place and it gives you
courage to propel forward.