Victor Spielberg, English Assistant Teacher, Nations 2011

Victor Spielberg

Campus des Nations, 2011

English Assistant Teacher

Spain

• Find out more about me: get in touch at [email protected]

I am currently working as an English Assistant Teacher in Madrid, Spain. My days at school are spent designing and executing fun conversation projects for my 12 to 16-year-old students. I really enjoy teaching English as a foreign language, not simply as another subject in school for students, but as a vehicle to connect with the world around us, stay informed about what is happening around the globe, and understand history, politics, and the arts. My greatest days in school are when students come up to me and start talking about a new manga they are reading in English, or they want to discuss the politics behind the dress choices at the Met Gala. Besides working in a school, I am also a freelance translator and playwright. Over the last few years, I have cultivated relationships with queer Chicanx and Latinx theatre companies in the United States and translated several full-length plays for them. 

There are too many fond memories to pick, but some of the highlights would be all the community weeks, ski trips, volunteering and making Mother’s Day cards with asylum seeker children in Geneva, Mr Coates’ puns in HL Economics class, the Model UN trips to Russia and Panama, drama rehearsals with DJ and the whole Instinct group along with our tour to Jordan, working in the sound and light booth for the student-led musicals, the ISMTF Maths competition in Warsaw, the collective looks of despair and support after our HL Maths mock exams, and countless hours just chatting with my classmates in the school canteen.

While my time at Ecolint was certainly academically demanding, I believe the greatest impact the school has had on me is in moulding me as a caring and committed human being. More than anything that was taught in the classes, being surrounded by peers from vastly different backgrounds really shaped my worldview and the way I interact with people. The level of commitment from several of the teachers I had also directly influenced my career choices and brought me into the world of education.

If I had to do it all over again I would definitely stress less about the grades I got. I have always been somebody who prided myself on being academically successful, but as time goes on I realised that the most valuable things in life were never about excelling, but about caring. So much of my time at Ecolint was spent stressing over exams and university admissions, and I believe I would have been happier and would be happier today if I spent some of that time cultivating relationships with those around me, figuring out what I was passionate about, and appreciating what a privilege it was to be living and studying in Geneva.

My words of wisdom for Ecolint students: in a world where cruelty and greed run so rampant, take the time to be kind. Show a hard world that you are stubbornly willing to be soft. Focus less on being great and more on being the kind of person who smiles at the everyday beauty of life.