Interview with Robert Marcus, global perspectives teacher
- Is there a story of choosing your profession and subject?
- I have thought about being a teacher for much of my life. My mom was a high school English teacher in New York and she loved her job. When I started to study history in
university it seemed like a good plan to go into teaching. I spent a year teaching English in South Korea after I got my first degree and afterwards went back to university to get my teaching degree. I have been teaching overseas for 10 years, ever since I graduated!
- What do you like most about your work?
- I love getting my students to engage with the material I enjoy, to share in the interests I have whether it be history, research or whatever I happen to be teaching at the time. There is no greater joy for me than to see a student finally understand a difficult concept or get excited about something I am teaching.
- Were there funny or interesting stories?
- As an long-time international teacher the funniest stories are often those of getting caught in cultural misunderstandings or the like. For example my family (I have my wife, who is an elementary teacher, and my 2 young kids here with me) were invited to a neighbors house for "tea" one day. We thought we would have some tea and cookies and they would get their kids to practice their English. We showed up to a huge table covered in beshbarmak, chuk-chuk, homemade samsas and more. It was a lovely time, just very surprising for us.
- Have you ever wanted to stop learning the subject?
- Not really, no. I've had a passion for learning since I was a kid and making education my profession only made that drive grow. I love to learn more about the subjects I teach and new and innovative ways to share my subjects with my students.
- Why did you choose our school?
- I came to NIS 3 1/2 years ago after having worked in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi for 3 years each. My wife's cousin was a GP teacher at NIS Uralsk and told me how interesting the school was and how wonderful it's mission is. I liked the idea of coming to a new place that had four seasons instead of hot, hotter and really hot, and that was a completely different culture than I had been accustomed to either at home or in my travels.
- What kind of wishes, recommendations or advices would you like to say to the students of our school?
- I would say to NIS students that they should study hard and learn what they like to learn about! It's not all about finding the best paying job or what you "should" do but rather what you want to do. If you don't enjoy what you learn and enjoy your work you will never be happy, no matter how much you earn.
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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