how we teach

What made you choose to become a teacher?
I decided to be a teacher because I wanted to make a difference. I take the responsibility of helping our students to become caring, considerate, and responsible individuals seriously. My teachers had always been responsible for shaping me into the person I am today, and I can only hope that I can have the same positive influence on the minds and hearts of my students.

What excites you most about teaching reception? 
Reception is a really exciting year group to teach. The children surprise me every year with how much progress they make from the beginning to the end of their class time. Every day, I’m excited to watch the children apply the skills they’ve learned, and I enjoy picking up on their varied interests to drive their learning, using motivating and engaging play-based topics.

What's a magic moment for you?
This is my eighth year at Nord Anglia International School New York, and over the years, I’ve enjoyed seeing the students and school grow. I love our diverse, international, welcoming, and supportive community, and I feel lucky every day to stand outside and greet all the happy little faces, as the children arrive at school. I love seeing them become eager to meet up with their friends and start their exciting day of learning.

What made you choose to become a teacher?
I always thought teaching might be something I’d enjoy, so I decided to take on a volunteer position for two weeks at the primary school I’d attended as a child. After spending some time at the school and teaching the children, I knew it was what I wanted to do. It’s a job like no other. It’s a job that allows you to challenge your own skillsets and to grow, as you develop and grow others — whether it’s planning exciting lessons or finding new subject matter that might even be out of your comfort zone. I wanted a job that made a difference, a real difference.

What's a magic moment for you?
The true magic in the classroom, for me, is bringing together different communities’ cultures and backgrounds. People from all around the world join together in the NAISNY classroom to form one strong community. Every day, we get closer towards our shared vision, and every step of that journey is magic.
 
What inspires you?
What truly inspires me as a teacher is the opportunities that a good education can give you in life. The scope of opportunity is limitless. There’s a world of opportunities out there — whether it’s the dream career or perhaps traveling to a faraway nation. It's the desire to learn a new skill such as a language or instrument. I’ve been inspired as a teacher in this way by my own personal experiences. The memories I’ve created for myself and the experiences I’ve had from traveling the world and visiting and living in different countries have all been part of the powerful alteration of my own personal journey that I hope to inspire in others.

What made you choose to become a teacher? 
My desire to teach stemmed from my experience working in an alternative education provision for students that had disengaged from mainstream education and were on the verge of permanent exclusion. Working in this challenging school environment required the resilience to work against factors that affected student learning, such as behavior and attendance. I was determined to help the students reach their academic goals, and I achieved this by encouraging them to be creative and contextualizing the curriculum, so that it was accessible and engaging.

Who inspires you?
A person who greatly inspires me is the author Paulo Coelho. His novel The Alchemist is one of my all-time favorites as it’s filled with powerful life lessons. A key message within the novel is to pursue your dreams by following what your heart desires and to be resilient when faced with adversity. This message is one that resonates with me, as it brought me here to NYC and NAISNY.

What excites you the most about teaching Upper School?
I’m a firm believer in “developing the whole child,” so it excites me when I see students within Upper School not only engaging with my lessons but seeing the value in literature and how it can be used to teach them life lessons. Every day, the students impress me with their thoughtful reflections.