Interview
Q:
Before coming to Keystone, you were the
Head of the Primary School at Léman
International School in Chengdu. What made you
decide to come to Beijing to join the Keystone
team?
A:
When I was in Chengdu, there was a lot of interest
from the Chengdu Education Department for the
(IPC). They were curious about the possibility of converting
and running the IPC within local Chengdu schools. We talked
to a lot of Chinese educators, principals and teachers and
they were really excited at the prospect. I think Keystone
presented a platform on which it would be possible to bring
the IPC to Chinese students and teach it using Chinese. This
opportunity excited me, and I can imagine that if we were
successful here, then there would be tremendous implications
for wider use of the IPC within the general education system
here in China.
China is also a wonderful place at the moment, so the
opportunity to stay here was important for me. Another key
factor was meeting Mr. Edward Shanahan and other people
on the team and hearing what they hoped to do here at
Keystone – it was very different and intriguing.
to bring up to parents – that they need to understand what
it is their child is doing. Facilitating this process is a key role
of mine, but also a role that teachers and administrators will
be involved in.
It is also imperative that I have a teaching role at Keystone,
along with other members of the administrative team,
because we need to understand what is happening in the
classrooms and in the curriculum. My role also includes
helping to locate and train great teachers. We look for
teachers who are passionate, prepared to take risks, and are
not limited by traditional structures, but I must also work to
bring this out of teachers who have been restricted in other
systems.
“When you have a curriculum like
the IPC that is only focused on
learning it is difficult to go wrong.”
Q:
Q:
What are your primary responsibilities as
the IPC Curriculum Coordinator?
A:
I will work closely with them to help them understand what it
means, not only to deliver the IPC, but to promote learning
through the classroom and wider school. The IPC will reach
beyond the primary school because there are elements of
the IPC that have to permeate every area of the school and
wider school community.
When I first heard about the IPC I became curious
because it sounded fascinating. I did my own research
and eventually saw a job posting on the IPC website. I applied
for the job, received an offer, and began using the IPC as
a Grade 1 teacher. Initially, there was a bit of stumbling
around. I would ask questions like: “Is this ok?,” or “Can
I do this?” I learned that you have to take your lead from
the classroom, students, local environment and city. Once I
got more experience using the curriculum, I thought - Wow!
- this is really, really exciting. The kids were so enthralled.
Parents would come to me, for example, and say, “Johnny
just loves your class.” but I was not doing anything special.
It was just the way the IPC was thematically structured.
I will also facilitate parental understanding of the IPC. We
need the parents to get excited. Because we are a school
community, what we do inside the classroom has to also
happen outside of the classroom. Learning happens
everywhere. This is a very important point that we will have
What I discovered in that first year is that kids were
enormously passionate and excited about learning and
couldn’t wait to get into the classroom. I had parents
telling me that their children were up an hour early, and all
they talked about was school.
A:
My role is to work closely with the Primary School
team and ensure that the curriculum is effectively
delivered. I will look