“I enjoy the school, the children and the teaching environment offered by an international community.”

How long have you been at SIS? Twenty-eight years? No, probably not that long, but that is how long Ms. White has been teaching at SIS. She says that teaching is one of the most rewarding careers. For her, the  greatest joy of all is the connection between different cultures, as students from different parts of the world come together and support each other.

Unbeknownst to many, Ms. White is actually a core member of the SIS community. Having taught firstly as a substitute teacher in 1986, she later became permanently employed as a fifth grade teacher in 1987, and  is one of the longest serving teachers at the school. Back then SIS only went to ninth grade, and then as the years progressed 10th, 11th, and 12th grade were added consecutively.  

Throughout her career there have been several highlights. One of her former students, Vasudev, wrote a paper, “The Canonical Lagrangian Approach to Three- Space General Relativity”, that was accepted for publication in the Journal, “General Relativity and Gravitation.” Another student, Julia, was photographed with president Clinton as she works for the Clinton foundation. The most memorable part in Ms. White’s career is best said by her: “UN day, with all the international diversity and beautiful colours, celebrated annually.”

Being an international school, there are several lessons which we teach and learn from each other, teachers to students, students to students, and students to teachers. One important lesson that Ms. White has learnt over the years is that a teacher needs to apply various teaching techniques, and appreciate and respect differences in outcomes.

It is with no doubt that Ms. White’s stint at SIS has been an invaluable contribution to the prosperity of the school. SIS offers a platform on which students and teachers from diversified backgrounds converge to exchange their rich cultures and experiences.