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 is 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 am a firm believer in ‘developing the whole child’ so it excites me when I see students within my phase not only engaging with my lessons but seeing the value in literature and how it can be used to teach them life lessons. Each day, the students impress me with their thoughtful reflections.