Each Friday we’ve been featuring a new faculty member on 脸谱网. In case you missed “New 教师 Fridays,” enjoy our recap of new teachers we highlighted in August. 欢迎 埃德温·克雷格 和 Afia欧本!

埃德温·克雷格, Middle 和 上学校 Learning Specialist

埃德温 was attracted to Poly because of the diverse faculty 和 “amazing student body.” “I can’t wait to get to know the students 和 to learn from their individual experiences,” he said.

A driving force in his decision to become a Learning Specialist was having the example of Mr. Dreyden, his 11th grade U.S. 历史老师. “He made the lesson come alive through his passion for the subject 和 connection with the students,埃德温说. “He excelled at working with students individually or in small groups. He made you feel at ease 和 broke down complex ideas or concepts for you to 理解.”

埃德温 earned an Ed.M in Special Education 和 B.S. in Secondary Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“It is imperative that we listen, 理解, 和 respond with compassion to our students’ needs during these challenging times.”

With the challenges of the p和emic 和 Poly’s commitment to anti-racism curriculum this year, 埃德温说, “It is important as educators that we provide an atmosphere of 理解ing, 希望, 和 equal opportunity in our classrooms. It is imperative that we listen, 理解, 和 respond with compassion to our students’ needs during these challenging times.”

埃德温, who has lived in Japan, 澳大利亚, 和 the Philippines, is a movie buff 和, 不教学的时候, enjoys watching a great movie.

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Afia欧本, 中学 科学 Teacher

Poly’s new 中学 science teacher, Afia欧本, learned from her teacher, 妹妹诺里, that something as common as cooking was really chemistry. “Her easy 和 理解able approach to teaching the content helped cultivate my love for the subject,阿菲亚说。. “She encouraged me, as one of her high-achieving students, to apply for a summer internship at the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) of the New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ. 我意识到, once I entered PHRI, that in high school I was learning textbook chemistry, while in the actual lab setting, I was applying biological 和 chemical concepts in t和em.” This experience sparked Afia’s interest in biochemistry. “But what ultimately inspired me to pursue the field was researching alongside a cohort of students 和 successful research scientists who ‘looked like me,’”她说。.

Afia is excited to come to Poly, where she will teach Grades 7 和 8 science, because of the school’s commitment to “robust faculty development,” 和 promoting diversity in both school culture 和 curriculum.

“We are dealing with a dual public health crisis. The coronavirus p和emic 和 structural racism—coupled with an economic decline. With these issues come unprecedented levels of fear, anxiety, 和 stress.”

Afia is ready for the challenges ahead this academic year. “We are dealing with a dual public health crisis, ”她说。, “the coronavirus p和emic 和 structural racism—coupled with an economic decline. With these issues come unprecedented levels of fear, anxiety, 和 stress. In a time like this, it is imperative to be sensitive to different ways we are impacted 和 different ways we cope, 和 to be compassionate towards each other.”

She became “very technologically savvy in terms of utilizing different online resources to engage students” this past spring 和 will bring this experience to the Virtual Poly setting.

When not teaching, Afia loves poetry, specifically spoken word, 和 has performed in the past with her sister.

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