New at HIES pt. 2

New At HIES

Parker Miles, staff writer

Keeping with the theme of the variety of new faculty and staff at HIES, not a single new teacher at HIES resembles this concept more than Katie O’Connor. Born in London, England, O’Connor is the only new teacher at HIES who has lived in another country at some point in time. While this fact is incredibly unique, it’s her experience in London and her transition from a life in London to a life in the United States that makes her story arguably the most unique out of all the new teachers at HIES.

One of the most notable aspects about O’Connor is her background in teaching. She started teaching in 2012, a year after obtaining her undergraduate degree from Manchester University in Manchester, England. However, teaching was not always what she wanted to do. In fact, O’Connor mentions, “I spent a year thinking about becoming an accountant”. However, she mentions, “I soon realized that was not what I wanted to do, and once I got a postgraduate degree in Mathematics Education at University College London, I realized that I might want to teach the subject”. Currently, O’Connor teaches Algebra II and Precalculus at HIES, but for years, she taught Mathematics in the UK. When she moved to the US, she soon realized how different teaching Mathematics in both countries was. O’Connor mentions, “In the UK, everyone studies Maths until they are 16 and they are put into sets according to their ability in their age group”. At age 16, these students then take a GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exam and then decide whether they want to keep taking Mathematics courses.

“Every year, students learn bits of Maths from all areas, algebra, geometry, statistics… there is no Algebra II or Precalculus and no such thing as passing or failing a course”, O’Connor mentions. She elaborates, “The Maths is ultimately the same but it’s not quite as international of a language as I thought”. In other words, the general concept is the same, but the way she teaches it at HIES vs. the way she taught it in the UK is completely different.

O’Connor not only shares the difference between teaching in the UK and in the US, but she also com-

“Day to day life is not that different here versus the UK”. She elaborates, “The best thing about London is that it’s a hub for everything, much like Atlanta. In London, I could travel to anywhere in the world or country, I could hike, go to a plethora of concerts, or sporting events, and the same is true here”.

Don’t be fooled, the lifestyle in London and Atlanta are relatively similar, but O’Connor makes it clear that there are other aspects that are totally different. She mentions, “Basic differences are driving on the wrong side of the road, the accents, the weather, the food, the air conditioning. However, the more notable differences come within the school systems”.

“In the UK you don’t have quizzes, problem sets, or tests at the end of units and exams… you have 3 exams a year”. O’Connor elaborates on a topic she mentioned earlier by saying, “when you’re 16, you take tests in all subjects and then choose 3 subject to keep studying, then when you’re 18, you usually choose one subject to study at a university”.

Academically, school in the UK and in the US is very different, but there’s more to it than that. For example, O’Connor mentions, “High school in London is for students from 11 years old to 18. Also, the holiday breaks here are very different”. She continues, “In the UK, we have terms, not semesters, and as a result, we have a break of at least a week halfway through each term and a break of at least 2 weeks at the end of each term”. With such different environments, it only makes O’Connor’s transition that much more impressive. unique aspect about her story was her move from London to Atlanta, without a doubt. “If I went into all the admin of the move, I would be here forever, but I will summarize it quickly”, O’Connor mentions.

“The day of travel was me double checking that I’d packed everything up, trying and failing to sell my car, driving to the airport, saying a very emotional goodbye to my fiancé, flying to Toronto, a quick stopover and then onto ATL,” O’Connor says. She continues, “then I turned up to an empty apartment (that I’d miraculously managed to secure from England) where I then went across the road to pick up the airbed and bedding I’d ordered so that I could pump it up and have something to sleep on. All of this was 3 days before my first day here”.

To say that this move was nothing but abrupt is quite an understatement. However, O’Connor makes it clear that it was for a good reason.

“The first conversation I had was with Mr. Forrester and he was just so friendly; it was a nice, relaxed conversation where I was able to see what it would be like working here, and immediately, I knew that I would fit in”, O’Connor says. She concludes, “Everyone has been so nice so far. The Episcopal element is a plus for me too as I have had good experiences working in other faith schools, I think it adds something to the feel of a school”.

So far, the transition from her school in London to HIES has been relatively smooth for O’Connor, and a primary reason has been because of the warm and receptive community that HIES has provided. With all of this said, it is clear that the stellar math department at HIES will benefit even more from having a teacher

“The first conversation I had was with Mr. Forrester and he was just so friendly; it was a nice, relaxed conversation where I was able to see what it would be like working here, and immediately, I knew that I would fit in”- Katie O’Connor.