In the study of English language and indeed literature, it is often said that ‘there are no right answers.’ The truth always boils down to context; the circumstances that lead up to and surround the learning of a new word or concept – we all learn differently and have arrived at the same point dependant on wholly separate and unique circumstances of our own. Most significantly, we all think differently and sometimes arrive at different conclusions.
This is the magic we need to harness when learning English as a subject.
As someone who has arrived at teaching later in life, I have a healthy appreciation of context. I spent my formative years growing and learning across the globe amongst many different cultures and climates, not just in the UK but in Dubai and Malaysia, studying the British curriculum on foreign shores. I returned to the UK, namely Yorkshire, to complete a degree in Creative Writing at the University of Leeds. I came to teaching later in life, having started work against type, developing firstly a career in the financial sector, and then subsequently moving into Project Management in the retail sector.
After meeting my science teaching wife, I decided to acknowledge my interest in English as a subject – as well as the enjoyment I earned from coaching and training people in industry – to change career and become a teacher. I received my second degree in Sheffield whilst ‘on the job’, working in one of the most deprived areas in the UK. Since then, I’ve been teaching in a school with results consistently above national average in an outstanding English department. This has given me a breadth of experience concerning subject knowledge, approaches to teaching and most critically, learning styles.
English, as a subject, draws from our individual experiences and asks us to translate our context to the written page. To tell our stories. I bring all of my knowledge and experience together to support the students of Wolsey Hall. I’m excited to connect with students in whatever situation they’re in and to help them achieve results that will enable them to progress through their journey.
