The Redundant Teacher

I currently am principal and creative director of a very colorful arts-based kindergarten in Shanghai, China. I also own a brand I launched myself called Schooled by Paper (www.schooledbypaper.com). In the five years before moving into a principal role, I set up the IB and IGCSE Drama and Art programs for two international schools in Guangzhou, and taught literature and Drama in a studio setting part-time in Shanghai. Before relocating to China, I was the high school head of Creative Arts in Sydney, Australia for 4 years where I taught Art, Drama, and Technical Theatre. Back in the US, I taught middle- and high school-level Drama and Visual Arts in for 5+ years to complement my professional work as a theatre artist. Additionally, I taught university-level English in South Korea for one year. In the past 15+ years I have led various masterclasses and done private tutoring for acting and public speaking, and have been a professional actor, director, artist, and writer in the US and abroad for 20+ years.

I prefer to call myself a coach rather than a teacher. Thanks to technology and communication, students today have greater access to information than at any other time in history. Because of this, a teacher's role must shift to that of facilitator and guide rather than sole transmitter of information, aiding students in the competent use of information and skills as well as metacognition. Coaching in this way seeks to help students understand their own learning processes and how to apply knowledge and skills to life in a beneficial way. I believe the highest goal for a teacher is to make themselves redundant, having taught their students to be self-reliant and an able judge of their own work at a given level. We know that there is no fixed ceiling to one's knowledge and skills, and that an individual can continue to grow until that individual becomes the best in the world at what they do... at which point they must become more clever about where their learning comes from.

My students over the years have honored me best.

I hold an MFA in Acting from the Professional Theatre Training Program at the University of Delaware, a BFA in Studio Art from Wheaton College (IL), and a Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education from the Wesley Institute (Sydney, Australia).

I am the owner of the brand www.schooledbypaper, which produces the world's first paper-leather fashion bags & accessories specifically for DIY art customization.