Gareth Manning

1. Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and what were you doing before arriving at THINK Global School?

I’ve taught in a range of cross-cultural contexts, including an American international school in Taiwan, an extremely remote German Mennonite community in Northern Canada, a squatter community in Kingston, Jamaica, Japanese junior high schools, and as a tutor in downtown Toronto.

2. What do you love most about teaching?

Teaching is my passion and gives me a deep sense of meaning and purpose in life. I love challenging students to think critically and creatively, and being challenged by them in return. It’s my weapon of peace to effect positive social change, if even on the smallest of scales.

3. What aspects of THINK Global School’s educational model do you find most appealing?

The vision of enabling young people to make a positive impact on the world in personally meaningful ways through engaging with people and problems from around the world.

4. If you could make one major change to global education, what would it be?

I’d disrupt the university system, as it is what drives so much of what is massively problematic in schooling, most notably the emphasis on grading over learning and having to sell oneself rather than create oneself authentically.

5. Describe your teaching style or philosophy. Do you have any unique teaching methods you use to keep students engaged?

A question I always ask myself is, “Who is doing most of the thinking here, the teacher or the students?” It should always be the students as that is one of the biggest keys to engagement. There are a multitude of strategies to evoke such that. I especially like student-driven seminars, inquiry-based projects, and design thinking. Mini-lectures have their place, too.

6. Which of our core values do you feel you most embody, and why?

Meraki: Put all of yourself – your soul, creativity and love – into your work.

I do this intuitively because I love what I do and it’s how I grow.

7. What is your most memorable travel experience thus far?

Probably spending a week hitchhiking around the island of Shikoku in Japan. People were so incredibly kind to us and it was an amazing adventure!