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Cynthia Ann Hogwood
Cynthia Ann Hogwood
Currently, I am the Secondary Gifted and Talented Specialist at NIST International School in Bangkok, Thailand. I say "currently" because I have been teaching for twenty-five years, and nineteen of those years have been outside of the United States. I am originally from Denver, Colorado, but my family (fortunately) moved to Texas soon after I was born. Houston is where I call home and where I did all of my compulsory schooling in both the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District and the Spring Branch Independent School District, eventually graduating from Memorial High School. I had the privilege and joy to be a Gifted and Talented student in both districts, participating in both the Horizons and Spiral programs, respectively. I also participated in Memorial's nationally recognized debate program, competing at both the local, state, and national levels.
Upon graduation, I went to the University of Texas at Austin and majored in English Literature after a brief flirtation with Government. Books have always had my heart, and this area of study seemed like a natural progression. After completing my Bachelor of Arts Degree with both Departmental and University Honors in English, I began teaching tenth grade at Langham Creek High School, which I had also attended for Grades 9 and 10. It is at Langham Creek where I was also initially trained to teach Gifted and Talented Students and where I found a niche in my teaching as I was able to combine my personal experience with GT Education, my university studies, and my passion for literature all in one classroom. While at Langham Creek, I also completed my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies at the University of Houston, procuring a Principal's certification in the process.
Even though only in my late 20s, I began to get restless, and through a circuitous and fortuitous journey, I left Texas, the heat, and the humidity to move to a small American boarding school in the Swiss Alps in the French part of Switzerland, Leysin American School. The school gave me training for teaching the IB Diploma Program's English course and thus began my career as an international school teacher. Travel became a passion I had the opportunity to pursue, and my passport became a prized possession. While the school did not have a gifted education program, like schools all around the world, I found those students sitting in my classroom and endeavored to support those learning needs within the structures of my school. The building to my left was my home for three years.
While I loved living in Central Europe, boarding school was not the environment for me, so I looked out into the world again, and this time, I chose to go to the Anglo-American School of Moscow. For eight years, I taught High School English, both IB Literature and IB Language and Literature, as well as grades 9 and 10. Then, I got the drive to change things up, and the opportunity to create the AAS G/T program presented itself. After securing the job as the initial G/T Coordinator, I set about working with my colleagues in the Special Education Needs Department, as well as all three divisions (ES, MS, HS) to create a program from the ground up. This program included an identification process, ability testing for all students, and starting to develop specific curricular decisions. I also worked with students in grades 2-5, providing enrichment and extension in both mathematics and literacy. This program meant that I got a chance to return to working with GT students, GT philosophy, and a GT program, and I loved every minute of it.
However, I could not deny that my heart was also with teaching literature and working with high school students. So, again, I decided to move, this time to return to teaching HS English at the International School of Manila. ISM has a sterling reputation worldwide and has always received outstanding results in the IB Diploma Program. I was looking to grow in my teaching methodologies, and ISM is where I could do that. I made some great friends and worked with some outstanding colleagues despite working through the COVID-19 pandemic in the second-longest lockdown on the planet (the Philippines). Eventually, I did get the bug to move again, but it was in the neighborhood of Southeast Asia.
Again, through a fortuitous turn of events, I secured the job as Secondary Gifted Education Specialist at NIST International School, which also has a great reputation worldwide for its education. And so, I've moved into downtown Bangkok and am working to continue NIST's good work with its program for HAGT secondary students. Bangkok is a hustling and bustling city, and I'm enjoying exploring my new city and country while returning to HAGT Education.
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