Hello, my name is Samuel Grady.

I'm a Washington State (USA) native working in Suzhou, China as an PYP homeroom teacher.

Education is a constantly shifting landscape of potential, design, and implementation. Preparing young learners for their educational journey has provided me with insight into what it means to be an educator. Education is the road map by which we provide our students the opportunity to gain the skills they need in order navigate their way through a world in a perpetual state of change.

 Now, there are two key points in that proclamation.

 The first is that education is an opportunity to gain and not a predestined determination. Every student is unique and the strengths they have are particular to themselves; therefore, the possibility of growth will be determinant on an individualized basis. Of course, that does not dismiss the necessity to try – and that necessity, or that urge to try,  is what sets apart good teachers and great teachers.

The second is that education is a tool to navigate, and not the destination of a journey. That belief is why I subscribe to the notion that student-directed inquiry-based learning is so important for the students of today and the generations of tomorrow. We all carry the sum total of human achievement and knowledge in our pockets on a daily basis. So, education must adapt from “what you know” to “how you think” and I believe the programs like IB provide that for students.  

I hope this blog is helpful, fun, insightful and worth any of the time you spend here. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me via email.