I am a senior teacher, having passed the French Ministry of Education CAPES. I began my career working in France, in Bourgogne and in my home region of Champagne. I started at FIS in August 2018. I teach humanities in the French stream, specifically French and Latin, to lower and upper secondary students on the TKO and BPR campuses.
I wanted to experience teaching abroad, but wanted to do so in an AEFE accredited institution as they have a reputation for being both demanding and ambitious. I also wanted to be in Asia as I love Chinese culture.
The French International School of Hong Kong offers good working conditions, not only for me, but also for my wife. In fact, FIS did their utmost to find her a job as well and she currently works as a kindergarten assistant on the Jardine’s Lookout campus.
I can only compare it with state schools in France, which naturally differ quite a bit from a private institution like FIS. For instance, some departments which are normally distant in state schools, are very close to us here, such as HR; while others do not even exist, such as communications, purchasing, university guidance and IT.
You can also organise many extra activities and your projects are more visible. As for the students, they are always very willing and hardworking. They recognise the importance of doing well and improving. This is especially striking at FIS.
The trip to Cambodia with students from Latin. It centred around archaeology and polytheist religions and increased visibility of the subject.
Learning Latin helps students develop a humanist culture, think differently and be open-minded.
Latin encourages students to be interested in the origins of things around us. After all, the first intellectuals, scientists and writers, who gave us the foundations on which the Western world is built, all expressed themselves in this language. It is useful for university studies, whether for humanities (literature, history, philosophy, law and so on) or for the sciences (including mathematics, physics and medicine). It is also very helpful for learning the modern languages taught here at the school, since 50% of English words and 80% of French words are derived from Latin. And it provides an insight into the etymology of words, in particular in romance languages such as Spanish and Italian.
Since I started here, most stories are linked to the difficult periods we have experienced, from the protests in Hong Kong, to teaching remotely and dealing with Covid social distancing restrictions. But both students and teachers were able to adapt and overcome the challenges posed by these tricky situations.
For me, the highlight in all this has been the strong sense of solidarity among colleagues and among students; teaching here is a real pleasure.
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