“There are subjects I love to teach because I see that the interaction with the students is meaningful. You can feel that the students are making progress, that they're experiencing that sense of accomplishment (….) You can see it in their faces, in the way they work. For example, I love teaching Math. I see that the children are doing well. And then you have these little moments of joy from time to time—when a child says to you, ‘Yes, yes, I got it, I understand.’ You can measure the progress of students who are struggling. You see them overcome a challenge and then it goes smoothly. And then there are even some who get excited when you start teaching that subject. Yet when I do surveys from time to time to get a sense of things—‘What subjects do you like and what subjects do you like less?’—Math is never mentioned.” It's a subject they don’t like because it's an intellectual and cognitive challenge that unsettles them. And I find it incredibly enjoyable to guide them through this challenge. That's where teaching comes in (...) It's the pleasure of seeing children progress, and (…) implementing teaching strategies that I think are somewhat original. If you're teaching geometry, you take the children outside into the schoolyard. You want them to understand what a perimeter is. You have them walk very slowly all the way around the yard. They experience it firsthand and then you arrive at the conceptual understanding (...) That's fun. That pedagogical aspect is something I find deeply rewarding.”
“There's another moment I really enjoy, and that's having them work on their writing. For example, at the beginning of the year (...) I ask them little questions that are a bit reflective, a bit philosophical—‘What does it mean to grow up?’ ‘How do I see life?’ Questions about good and evil, about good friends. ‘What happens when I get angry with a friend?’ Emotions. And these are just questions. They have a notebook that we call ‘the notebook for growing up in your mind’ (...). It's very personal. I tell them: ‘You can let your parents read it, but you don't have to. Don't show it to your friends.’ And they come to me, or they raise their hand, and I read what they've written. And I ask a follow-up question to try to get them thinking more about the topic They may also write to me, to ask me questions. And so I answer.”
“The children write some pretty incredible, profound things, and I always feel a great deal of emotion about that (…) It makes them think and it also forces them to write independently, which is, after all, the goal—it's an exercise, it's the purpose of the exercise. And in terms of reflection, you see some very beautiful things that a child writes. So, for me, these kinds of exercises bring me a lot of joy. It's not just satisfaction, it's pure joy.”
“To discover the child from another perspective.”