Greetings from India!
Last fall Elena Speridakos moved from her teaching job in Seattle, WA to teach Pre-K and Kindergarten at a private school in Mumbai. Elena had an amazing experience in her junior year, studying in Copenhagen, Denmark through the Danish Institute of Study Abroad. While there she assisted in a Danish pre-school. From this experience she learned that she wanted to live and work abroad again in her life and began considering many different options. After graduation Elena got a teaching job at University Child Development School in Seattle; during her three years there she taught in grades ranging from Pre-K to 5th. Elena learned about Ascend International School because it is a sister school of University Child Development School. Because the teaching philosophy is the same, Elena assumed the transition to living in Mumbai, India might be a smooth one. She notes, “It has been quite the experience!”
Elena comments on the teaching and learning in this position in Mumbai. “It's been interesting to teach a progressive curriculum to my students as compared with more traditional Indian schools that have very structured teaching. Some of my students are Indian and others are from countries all over the world, which makes communicating and offering instructions quite a challenge. Along with teaching, I am also adjusting to living in a culture that is so vastly different from the one I grew up with. I am fully immersing myself in all that India has to offer and taking this opportunity to travel to other countries as well. I'm glad that I made the choice to push myself out of my comfort zone and feel like I am learning so much all of the time!”