Teacher Tuesday this week hosts Patrick, Economics and Business Studies Teacher, as well as Exams Officer at Ealing Independent College. 

The conversation we had with Patrick touched upon several tremendously interesting topics, including his fascinating Club suggestions, comparisons between the British School System and the Dutch one, and his dual role that sees him as part of the teaching staff as well the administrative body of the College. 

Having moved to the UK from the Netherlands just over two years ago, he started teaching at the College in January 2020, and became Exams Officer in addition to his teaching role in January 2021. 

The first thing Patrick appreciated about EIC, especially after teaching in a big school in the Netherlands, was the relaxed atmosphere that allows students to truly be themselves around teachers and staff. Patrick explains that, thanks to the small numbers in each class, students are able to share their opinions without fear and very often a substantial part of his lessons becomes student-led: they have the chance to make comments and share their opinion in class; their voices are heard.

This observation brought up other terms of comparisons between Education in the Netherlands versus here in the United Kingdom. 

Although Patrick preferred the fact that schools in the Netherlands are less focused on achieving specific grades, as students don’t need set grades to access Universities, he  appreciates how in the UK each student is encouraged to form their own opinions and therefore becomes able to have a conversation on the topics studied. Writing essays, which is really popular in the British School system, also helps students formulate and express their ideas in an organic, structured, and organised way. 

Patrick explains that in the Dutch Educational system students are more likely to study “facts” and obtain the skills they need to retell what they have learnt, rather than acquiring the skills to debate on those topics, as it happens here. If this is true in England, it is even more so at Ealing Independent College, where conversations with teachers happen on a daily basis, and students are very used to comparing opinions.

Linked to the opportunities given to students to talk and debate is Patrick’s suggestion of a potential new club. Based on his interest in politics and philosophy, Patrick would like his Political Philosophy club to become a place where students can discuss actual topics and societal issues. Certainly, accompanying the students’ debates there would be the study of political philosophers and their work, in order to generate intellectual conversations that quote relevant research and studies on the topics at hand. 

Patrick has also been running an Economics club, called Investment Club, where students are very “hands-on”: they only get a 10 minute theory introduction on the topic of the lesson, that could vary from bitcoins to Government bonds, and then go onto an online Stock Trading Simulator. On the website the students virtually hold £100,000 and are able to invest their money in different stocks. This is a real life skill as if they would want to invest real money, when they’re older, they could use a paid version of the same website to do so. 

Finally, another aspect of Patrick’s every day job is his role of Exams Officer. Undertaking this role last year was a good opportunity for him to understand how the College works from an administrative perspective. Patrick admits that since accepting the role in January 2021, he comprehends better the roles and responsibilities of the administrative team.

This enriches his Economics and Business lessons too: as the College itself is a Business, Patrick mentions the administrative structure of EIC to his students in class: when talking about marketing, he explains what Laura’s role includes, and when talking about Finance, he talks about Catherine’s daily tasks. 

One would think that it must be so stressful to juggle between lessons and dealing with exams reservations and external candidates too; however, Patrick has the superpower of keeping calm even when everyone else would feel overwhelmed. 

In his private life, his relaxed yet focused attitude is his most prominent feature.  All of Patrick’s hobbies match his personality well. His main hobby is hiking, but he also enjoys reading, especially philosophical books, going to the theatre, and bouldering. 

Finally, a fun fact about him: he once walked from the Netherlands all the way to Spain on a pilgrimage!