In January 2025, I am celebrating 25 years of being a teacher. A quarter-century of doing something you love is worth celebrating. I will also be halfway through my 12th year of teaching at HFI, one school year shy of equaling my entire prior teaching experience. There have many highs and lows throughout those first 13 years teaching, which includes teaching at two schools in a very diverse but conservative school district in the U.S. and a very homogeneous international school in South Korea before arriving in Guangzhou.
Where I Came From
“In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer” – Albert Camus
Born and raised in West Texas, with a couple of brief stopovers in Libya and Nigeria as a small child, I grew up with a hard-headed curiosity about the sheer variety of cultures and peoples of the earth. The university experience broadened my horizons even further and ultimately led me to become a teacher. As a teacher primarily of World Geography 8 years at two high schools near Houston, I had to educate myself in even more detail about the world we live in and the mosaic of humanity that inhabits it. My classes were exceptionally diverse as well, with students of European, African, Hispanic, South Asian, and East Asian heritage, some newly arrived to the country. This spurred my interest to actual travel to some of these places I was teaching about, and through the aegis of the University of Hawaii I was able to do just that, in particular, to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. International teaching seemed a natural progression for me; living and teaching in other cultures would be the natural fulfillment of this life-long drive to learn more and experience more. After teaching internationally for over 17 years, first in Seoul, South Korea, for 5 years, and now in Guangzhou, at HFI, I can say I am absolutely living my dream!
Why I Do What I Do
“The sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being” – Carl Jung
My teaching philosophy is one based around creating international citizens that are critical thinkers and creative problem-solvers, but more than that my main focus has been simply creating better human beings. I not only teach the person that the student is now, but I am also teaching the person that they will be, a heady responsibility to be sure but one that I feel I have been mostly successful at.
“You are what you do, not what you say you will do” – Carl Jung
My teaching is evidence-based, drawing mainly from cognitive science as well as elements of humanistic psychology and positive psychology. Various rehearsal strategies and memory techniques are emphasized, such as spaced practice, interleaving, and the importance of sleep to learning, to help students add tools to enhance their studying, develop stronger resiliency in the face of adversity, and to hone their sense of metacognition. My AP results had always been good at my previous schools in which I have taught, but my students at HFI demonstrated an incredible ability to meet the challenges and rigor of not only an Advance Placement course, but succeed magnificently on the A.P. test (even that 2020 pandemic outlier one).
What Students Remember
“Sleep well, think well” – John Medina
Besides the need-to-know curriculum that students are immersed in for the end of the year test, the main thing most students say they remember about my class are the positive psychology elements: the lessons on resilience, on dealing with stress in their daily lives, the humorous stories and videos designed to get the dopamine and serotonin flowing in their brains, the warm smile and greeting at the door, the occasional treats that teach unconditional positive regard, and so on. I frequently get feedback from students that emphasize how meaningful my class (or classes, if they take more than one) was, or how I made it meaningful, anyway. I still beat myself up over my failures as a person and as a teacher, but each of those has been opportunity for personal growth and professional development. Moving forward and upward is the only option.
What I Remember
“When one teaches, two learn” – Robert Heinlein
Almost all of my most special memories regarding my time at HFI have revolved around experiences with students. My first year at HFI I was struck at how eager students were to involve me in their activities, always inviting me to this or that event, and a group of them even took me and some other teachers on an end-of-the-year tour around the city with a lovely dinner. I was touched in my 2nd year when two students, Harriet and Grace, invited me along with them to a K-pop fan event, and Harriet later giving my wife and I a personal tour of Guangzhou Museum where she worked as a docent. So many emotional memories of my 2nd year, which was truly a formative one for me as teacher at HFI. For the next several teachers, groups of students would invite my wife and I out for various dinners near the school or around the city, something unfortunately that doesn’t happen much anymore. The nice gifts I’ve received, the wonderful cards and thank-you notes, the teary good-byes, the happy reunions, so many individual memories over such a long time at this school.
What Impact I’ve Made on My Students
“A student is not a container you have to fill but a torch you have to light up”
– Albert Einstein
I have a passionate belief that showing students you care about their mental and physical health, that you care about them as individuals, is what not only enables effective learning, but builds, and has built, lasting relationships. I maintain social connections to so many of HFI students, especially through WeChat and Instagram, and the rare visits to campus.
“There is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end” – Scott Adams
To be sure, there have certainly been some highs and lows (pandemic, anyone?) since I have been here at HFI, as well, but the highs have been exceedingly high and that is almost solely thanks to the students I have had cycle through my courses during my time here. Whether in A.P Psychology, A.P. Human Geography, or the newer semester courses, Sociology and Film Studies, I have maintained my energy and enthusiasm because of them and the fact that I genuinely love the subjects I teach. HFI students have been a brightness that keeps me returning year after year.
They all have shone with a different brilliant light, but a brilliance just the same.
译文
“作为一名教师，最好的一点是它很重要。作为一名教师，最困难的一点是它每天都很重要。”
2025年1月，将是我当老师的第25周年：在四分之一世纪里做一份自己热爱的工作，这值得庆祝。我也将完成在HFI（华附国际部）的第12年教学，离我先前的全部教学经历相加仅差一年。在最初的13年教学生涯中，我经历了许多高潮和低谷，这包括在美国非常多样化但保守的两所学校教学，以及在来到广州前，我在韩国一个较为同质化的国际学校进行教学。
我来自何方
“在隆冬，我终于知道，我内心有一个不可战胜的夏天。”——阿尔贝·加缪
我在西德克萨斯出生和长大，曾在利比亚和尼日利亚停留过几段时间，这使我从小就对地球上各种文化充满了好奇心。大学的经历进一步拓宽了我的视野，最终指引我成为了一名教师。当时，作为一名在休斯顿的两所高中任职八年，主要教授世界地理的老师，我必须更详细地告诉自己关于我们生活的世界和居住其中的人类多样性。我的班级也非常多样化，有来自欧洲、非洲、西班牙裔、南亚和东亚血统的学生，其中一些学生也才刚来到这个国家。这激发了我对实际访问我教授的这些地方的兴趣，在夏威夷大学的支持下，我确实做到了，特别是泰国、柬埔寨和越南。国际课程的教学对我来说似乎是自然而然的；在其他文化中生活和教学将很好地实现“活到老，学到老”的终生目标。在国际上教学超过17年后，首先在韩国首尔教了5年，再到现在在HFI教书，可以说我绝对过着理想中的生活！
为什么做我所做的
“人类存在的唯一目的，是在纯粹存在的黑暗中燃起一点光亮。”——卡尔·荣格
我的教学理念基于培养国际公民，他们有能力去进行批判性思考和运用创造力去解决问题。但更重要的是，如何教出更好的“人”。我不仅教授学生在当下的为人处事，我更致力于教育他们将来所会成为的人，这的确是一个重大的责任，但我觉得很大程度上，我已经成功了。
“你的价值是以你所做的事衡量的，而不是由你所说的话来决定的。”——卡尔·荣格
我的教学是以证据为基础的，主要来源于认知科学，人本心理学和积极心理学的元素。在课程体系中，强调各种复习策略和记忆技巧，如间隔练习、交错练习以及睡眠对学习的重要性，以帮助学生锻炼学习方法和巩固知识的技能，让他们面对逆境时发展更强的韧性。在先前的几所学校中，我学生的AP（大学预修课程）成绩一向很好，但HFI学生更是展示出了令人惊叹的能力，不仅克服了大学预修课程中的种种挑战，而且在AP考试中取得了相当优异的成绩（即便是在2020年的疫情期间）。
学生记住的
“睡得好，记得清楚”——约翰·梅迪纳
除了为年终考试而沉浸在必知课程外，大多数学生说他们记得我的课的主要是一些积极心理学的元素：如关于韧性的课程，关于如何应对日常生活中的压力，和旨在让他们大脑中的多巴胺和血清素流动的幽默小故事和视频，每天上课前在门口的温暖微笑和问候，偶尔的糖果惊喜，等等。我经常收到学生的反馈，强调我的课是多么有意义，或者我如何使它们有意义。时至今日，我仍然会因为作为人和作为教师的失败而自责，但每一次失败都是个人成长和专业发展的机会。向前和向上是我唯一的选择。
我所记住的
“当一个人教书时，两个人学习”——罗伯特·海因莱因
我在HFI的所有最特别的记忆几乎都围绕着与学生的经历。在HFI的第一年，我对学生们让我参与他们的活动的强烈渴望感到惊讶，总是邀请我参加这个或那个活动，一群学生甚至带我和一些其他老师进行了一次年末城市之旅，并享用了一顿美味的晚餐。到了第二年，当两个学生，Harriet和Grace，邀请我和他们一起去一个K-pop粉丝活动时，我非常感动。Harriet后来还给我和妻子提供了一次广州博物馆的私人导览，她在那里担任讲解员。我的第二年有许多令我感触的记忆，这对我在HFI的教学有着无比深远的影响。在接下来几年里，学生会邀请我和妻子去学校附近或城市周围享用各种晚餐，遗憾的是，这种事情现在不再经常发生了。我收到的精致用心的礼物，美好的卡片和感谢信，含泪的告别，快乐的重聚，这么多年来，这所学校承载了太多我个人的美好回忆。
我对学生们产生了什么影响
“学生不是你要填满的容器，而是你要点燃的火炬”——阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦
我有一个热情的信念，那就是向学生展示你关心他们的身心健康，你将他们每个人视作个体去关心。这不仅能够使更有效的学习成为可能，而且建立了（在过去已经建立了）持久的关系。尤其是，我通过微信和Instagram还与许多HFI学生保持着联系。
“请记住勿以善小而不为.每一个善意的举动都会带来一个无法想象的延绵不断的涟漪效应。”——斯科特·亚当斯
可以肯定的是，自从我来到HFI，有高潮也有低谷（比如…疫情？），但高潮确实非常高，这几乎完全归功于在这期间学习我的课程的学生们。无论是在A.P心理学、A.P.人文地理学，还是较新的单学期课程，社会学和电影研究，我永远保持着我的充沛精力与热情，因为他们，以及我真诚地热爱着我教授的科目。HFI的学生所带来的光芒与希望，是我年复一年回到这所学校的原因。
他们各自以独特的光芒闪耀，却同样璀璨夺目。
作者：
Damon Six
AP Psychology, Sociology, Film studies Teacher
译者:
Jennifer姜迦瑜
HFI2023级学生
