My career as an educator spans 29 years, and has enabled me to teach in an extensive range of schools and cultural environments. I began my career as a Secondary Specialist Teacher of Art and Design and transitioned into becoming a Primary Teacher, Online Tutor and Course Writer. I left the UK in 2001 and have lived in seven countries since then, including France, Italy and Malaysia.
As a child, I had a huge passion towards anything creative. Scraps of fabric, cardboard boxes or other found materials, anything that was discarded in my home was never safe. Cardboard, fabrics, beads, paper, anything that I could create with. I was always excited by these simple things and as a Primary teacher I recognise the thrill that children experience when they make and create their own inventions.
I am an avid reader of children’s literature, especially authors such as Philip Pullman and Michael Morpurgo, and have collected many traditional stories and tales on my travels and enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for reading with my pupils. I enjoy teaching all of the Primary subjects, especially now that there is so much information and resourcing available online to enhance the learning.
Today, children can explore space in three dimensions, research ancient cultures, view microscopic images and read any source of information instantly! My teaching career has allowed me to work with children and young people from very diverse cultures and environments.
I continue to be inspired by these children, and I hope I have helped to show them that the world is a wonderful place that needs young curious minds and innovators. I endeavour to make each learning interaction exciting and interesting for children, and often bring many of my own experiences into that learning environment. For example, my time in Borneo gave me a great insight into living in a tropical climate, and experiencing Jungles and Mangroves first hand.
As an online Tutor, it is possible to focus the learning towards individual needs and interests of the pupil. I really enjoy my ‘one to one’ contact with children and they continue to be my greatest source of inspiration to be a better and more relevant educator.
I live in a small town in Catalonia, Spain, called La Garriga, just 40 minutes from Barcelona, with my husband and our 16 year daughter. My husband, Spencer Byles, is a Wild Forest Artist and works on artistic residencies in various parts of the world.
