Born in Canada, raised in the US, Ben joined the school in 2015. This is his 6th year teaching Year 3, 6th year coaching the CISA and ACAMIS swim teams, 5th year as CISA chess coach/judge, and 3rd year leading the Juilliard Dance Program. Mr. Ben has 16 years of teaching experience and looks forward to what the 2020-21 school year will bring.
Ben graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelors Degree in Education in 2005. Since then he has worked as a teacher of every year group from Nursery to Year 10, even teaching undergraduates on up to the elderly. After teaching in North America for one year, Ben left the US and has taught in four countries; Mexico, South Korea, Thailand, and now China.
Since joining Léman, Mr. Ben has been a big supporter of clubs, swim teams, concerts and the new Juilliard dance program. His Year 3 class and dance clubs have contributed each year to the Winter and End of Year concerts, showcasing student ingenuity and choreography. He was sent to New York and trained in the new Juilliard Creative Classroom Curriculum in 2018, which has since influenced his classroom pedagogy. He has also been proud to develop and improve the two swim teams Léman offers its’ students. He is a strong believer that learning outside of the classroom is no less important than inside academic learning.
Ben enjoys the outdoors and takes advantage of local activities wherever he lives. In China, he hikes and treks well-known and not-so-known trails. But Chengdu is a city with enough fun to keep him here often as well. He and his wife fill their evenings social dancing with friends (swing & latin), studying Mandarin and exploring new restaurants to find the perfect meal.