Nick Sturmey talks at length about his experiences to The Myanmar Times last week in Yangon.

» How long have you been here and at ISY?

I’ve been in Myanmar more than ten years and at ISY for seven and a half years. Before this I was at British Council for two and a half years. In British Council, I started as a regular teacher and I ended up as the youth learning coordinator, in charge of the children’s education. And before that I was in Mandalay at a Myanmar-owned language school for one year.

» Why did you decide to be a teacher?

That is such a difficult question to answer. When I was in university, my first degree was in history and English. This is when I was eighteen or nineteen. Also, a lot of my friends said, ‘Nick you’ll be a really good teacher’. But I wasn’t interested so I never thought about it. When I finished university, I wanted to travel and my first opportunity to do that was to China with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas), which is a British charity and development organization. It sends professionals and skilled workers to developing countries. You stay for two years but you get very low salary because the point is you are not there as a highly paid foreign expert. I enjoyed it and after two years I went back to university and I got my teaching degree before going back to Cambodia again with VSO. It was a better job but I still wasn’t well paid; teachers aren’t if you compare the qualifications and experience of teachers to other professions. But we stick with teaching because we find it is very rewarding. It is a job where you really can see yourself changing lives and making a difference, helping people realise their potential. Of course, that’s not always what happens. Some students don’t make it as far as we hope. But when they do, it’s such a good feeling and I think that’s why I become a teacher.

» How old are your students and what subjects do you teach them?

Since I’ve been here, I’ve taught a number of different courses at high school level, which is grade nine, ten, eleven and twelve. The students are between fifteen and nineteen. I’ve taught English, composition, history, economics, publication, current affairs and a lot of different things. As you can see I’ve got my whistle here; as soon as this interview is finished, I’m going to coach the football side.

» What satisfaction do you get being a teacher at ISY?

One of the good things about being a teacher in ISY is the chance to really get to know the children. If I was teaching in a high school with two thousand children in London, each class would have forty children. Half of the children, they don’t really care. It is completely different. Here we have small classes and the kids work hard. The parents are really interested and very supportive. If the children have a better relationship with the teachers, the education is better and they learn more so from an educational point of view, the kids get a really good education. Another nice thing about being in a small school is you get the chance to do lots of different things. Since I’ve been here, I’ve taught a number of different courses at high school level. If I was working at a big school in, say, Bangkok, they might say to me, ‘Ok Nick, you have five classes of history or five classes of English’. But here, one History class, one Economic class, two English classes – you get more variety and it makes the job more interesting.

» Do you love your job?

Yeah, absolutely. I remember when I went to my teacher training course and on the very first day, with about two hundred people in the room, the lecturer said the only way you will succeed in this job and the only way you will stay in this job for any significant length of time is if you love children. Of course, sometimes they make you a little bit frustrated, you know children are not angels all the time but the end of the day the reason we’re here is because we love kids. If you don’t love kids, you will not last long as a teacher.

» What are your teaching methods for Myanmar students?

My teaching methods for Myanmar students are not different from my teaching methods for any other student. Also, we don’t have classes that are only Myanmar students – in my classes I have all different nationalities, but mainly from Asia. My teaching method is to first focus on giving students a clear idea of why we are learning and what we are learning. You want them to know the target, what your expectations as a teacher are. I also try to make my lessons fun and enjoyable because you remember things better if you had fun while you were doing it with it. I try also try to involve students as much as possible.

» How do you cope with the cultural differences?

We have to be very careful in international school because there are many cultures. You always have to make sure that the material you use is appropriate, that it’s not offensive to any culture, and I encourage my students to accept others ideas. We’re going to respect others’ opinions and if we disagree we do it politely. In that way, the students feel safe, confident and have their own identity. Teenagers are searching for identity. There are lots of things to handle so I try to make it as stress-free as possible.

» Do you face many challenges when you teach students at ISY?

The challenges come from their age rather than their culture. Asian kids take their education seriously and non-Asians at ISY often come from the kind of background where education is valued, like embassies and NGOs so we don’t have to force kids to work. So the problems are related to their age. For example, if I’m in front of middle school students and I make a joke, they just laugh. But with my older students, they look at me like this, like that, ha ha ha. You have to have a very thick-skinned – otherwise you go home and think, ‘Oh my God, they hate me’. But there aren’t many big problems.

» What funny experiences have you had?

So many. I’m not sure how much you can fit in your paper! One was when I took a group of about fifteen teenagers on a trip to Thailand. In the hotel, I got a phone call, allegedly from the hotel manager. ‘Are you Mr Sturmey? Can you come down to the manager’s office, one of your students has just broken a million baht worth vase. You need to come down immediately.’ I nearly believed them – I was in the shower when the phone rang and I put on my clothes but I thought, ‘oh that’s not the manager, it’s the kids’. So I waited five minutes and they called again. I said, ‘If you are the manager, what’s your name?’ Of course, they didn’t reply. If you are an experienced teacher, you get good at this but they nearly got me. We always have funny moments in the classrooms.

» In your opinion, is English important for students? Why?

Absolutely vital. Generally speaking, they study in English at university. And it’s the language of the world.

» Can you speak any languages? And Myanmar?

I’m angry with myself about this. Because I was in China for two years, my Chinese was pretty good. And in Cambodia for three years, my Khmer (Cambodian) was actually really good. Not reading and writing, just speaking. I’ve been here for ten years, my Myanmar is just not as good as it should be. Here in Yangon everybody speaks English. I’m ashamed of myself because I know I can do it – what I need is to travel around Myanmar for two months and I think I would come back be able to do this interview with you in Myanmar.

» What’s your plan for the future?

That’s a good question. The average time teachers work at ISY is five or six years. Well I’ve been here seven years so I probably should be thinking about moving on. But I love living in Myanmar, I love my job and I’m really happy. I love my kids and this country – it’s a great place to live. The Myanmar people are really nice. I’m not just saying that because I know you are going to print it. I travelled in almost every country in Asia and, honestly, Myanmar people are so gentle and caring. So, why leave?