Douglas Sillett
BA (Hons) History and English Literature, PGCE
Graduating from Southampton University with a degree in English Literature and History, Douglas worked in London for four years before moving to Shanghai in 2006. Since then, he has worked at both BISS Puxi and other schools in Shanghai, also in the role Head of Department. Douglas enjoys teaching English Language to ambitious young students, who are curious about the lives of others who live in different cultures or past times.
Douglas' ambition to travel lured him away for a year and he spent time exploring Central Asia, the USA and Europe. On his return to China, he was very happy to be returning to BISS Puxi. His memories of the school are of fantastic students, supportive parents and interesting colleagues. He is currently teaching Key Stage 3, IGCSE and IB Language and Literature. Douglas has been a teacher for eighteen years, and what motivates him to keep coming back is helping teenagers to gain their qualifications in English Language and Literature. Watching students unlock their interests, develop their talents for writing, and seeing children grow in confidence and ability all give me job satisfaction.
Douglas' interests reflect his values as a teacher. He loves learning new things and has been studying hard for his Mandarin Chinese HSK exams. He reads a lot and particularly enjoys reading literature in translation. The whole world in all its beauty and pity is out there to be discovered; reading lets him find out about people from all corners of the world. Douglas is constantly struck that, no matter how different a culture may be on the surface, we are all united by our common humanity when it comes to our hopes for love, success, happiness and fulfilment.