My Teaching journey

Three life experiences have inspired me to become a teacher: my career as a documentary photographer, the example of my father and the experience of becoming a father myself.

I have had the privilege of being a documentary photographer for the majority of my adult life. After graduating from university in 2003, my first photojournalistic assignment took me to Iraq. During the 15 years that followed, I exposed myself to some of the world’s most tragic environments and pressing social issues. People from the stories I worked on opened the doors of their lives to me. They taught me to listen, to comprehend, to keep an open mind, and to be patient. Although school was over, I was still learning full time.

I can also attribute my ongoing desire to learn and to serve to my father’s example. His dream was to teach children with disabilities that they could also enjoy a life of movement. He was a secondary school physical education teacher, but his focus drifted towards a family business and he never got to live his dream. He nevertheless transferred his passion for teaching to me, so, in 2008, when the founder of an organization that trained aspiring photojournalists approached me, I was eager to join as a trainer. Here, again, my photography students introduced me to the responsibilities and rewards associated with teaching. Sharing their practice and their sensitivity helped me become a better photographer.

My feeling that I was learning more than I taught did not change when my daughter was born. She is now 6 years old and she has been my greatest teacher. She has taught me to be open to learning in the most unexpected ways and that imagination is one of the greatest tools at our disposal.

Primary school teaching is therefore a natural evolution in my life’s journey. When I became a photojournalist, I chose a life of service. Becoming a father solidified that path and made me appreciate the importance of the formative years in a young person’s development.

I feel that I can learn to teach with empathy, compassion, and with respect for the creative potential of my students. As my previous experience makes clear, I am a communicator by profession, so I cannot imagine a better setting than a class room filled with “knowledge hungry” children with whom I can exchange ideas.

In particular, I want to teach children from year one to year six. I love their appetite for knowledge, their creativity, and their capacity for debate. I want to be part of how they see the world, shape their lens and work on their focus.

It is time to learn how to transfer to others my own passion for learning. I believe that good learners become good people, and I want to be part of that process.