Interview with Daniel Comber-Todd, physics teacher
- How do you motivate yourself to work?
- I remind myself about the purpose and outcome of the work. As a teacher, the work I do is for the benefit of students. So I think about how what I'm working on will help students. Occasionally there are tasks that I find tricky and that I want to procrastinate on. To solve this, I make a plan and then set aside a block of time and commit to work until the task is finished.
- Is there a history of choosing your profession and subject?
- When I was in high school I really enjoyed physics and mathematics. I liked that physics helps us understand the world by thinking carefully and applying mathematics. At the same time, our explanation involves some simplifications and approximations, so even when we understand something fairly well, we realise that there is a little more to the story. That's why I studied physics as an undergraduate, and then continued with research to get my Master's degree. While studying, I worked as a tutor, which required me to understand student's misconceptions and then think about how to best explain the material to fix the misconception. I really enjoyed the challenge, and also the reward of seeing a student understand something that was previously totally opaque to them. This inspired me to start teaching.
- What do you like most about your work?
- I like talking to students and learning more about their interests and their lives. Every student is unique and interesting, but you don't always find this out when teaching class.
- Were there funny or interesting stories?
- When I arrived at NIS I was so confused by the handshake culture (people shake hands when passing in the hallway). In Australia we normally great each other very informally, so I found it a little strange. I was always worried that I was being rude by missing a handshake.
- Have you ever wanted to stop learning the subject?
- At times when I was doing research I was discouraged because I felt like the work was pointless — I wondered why I should spend my time on this small area that almost no-one cares about. But whenever I made progress I felt so happy. It showed me how much I had learned.
- Why did you choose our school?
- I chose NIS because of the fantastic students and the school's commitment to excellence. I knew that I would be able to contribute a lot working with such talented students and colleagues.
- What kind of wishes, recommendations or advices would you like to say to the students of our school?
- Make sure you look after yourself — take time to rest and do things that you enjoy. Think critically about your approach to learning and studying — simply spending lots of time is not a good idea because you need to make sure that the time is being spent productively. Realise that learning is a process and that you can learn how to "learn better". When you don't understand something or get a bad result it doesn't mean that you're not smart. It means you have an opportunity to improve. Part of your goal at
school is finding better ways to improve. This will benefit you for the rest of your life. Even the students who are considered very smart must develop these skills because eventually they will face problems that they find challenging. Finally, keep up the good work! You're all amazing!
Interviewer: Abdullayeva Kamila
NIS Press — это школьная газета НИШ ФМН г. Алматы, Казахстан. Данная статья была опубликована в выпуске газеты 1-недели Декабря 2020 г.
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