“I’ve come full circle around the world,” Emma Golden, the newest addition to the WIS faculty, a teacher of History, Psychology, and soon-to-be basketball coach, said.
Golden was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to English American parents, but grew up in California. After studying history and sociology at Williams College in Massachusetts, she moved to London, England, to pursue her master’s degree in teaching.
Golden credits her grandmother, who was also a teacher, for her career in history and education. “She taught history and drama in England, and she helped to inspire both my interest in history and my decision to become a teacher,” she said.
After 11 years in London, Golden eventually moved to China, where she stayed for 8 years. The latest stop in her world travels is at WIS, where she brings a multifaceted approach and unique IB experience to her 10th-grade history and IB psychology classes.
“I was the IB diploma coordinator a little bit at my last school,” Golden said. “So I suppose I’m aware of the broader experience of being a student and that it’s very stressful”.
Golden describes history as her “first love”, one that will stay with her forever, but also expresses a dual passion for psychology. She remarks she enjoys the opportunity to teach both, especially with the updated IB physiology curriculum.
“The juniors have a new syllabus, which is much more conceptual and more based on real world topics rather than theories and approaches,” Golden said, “what that means is that you can make more connections to real life scenarios and look at them from a lot of different perspectives”.
Making connections is important to her, and she hopes to encourage it in discussion based classes that promote real world, critical thinking. Overall, she advises students to be curious, independent, and risk-takers. Golden states that being successful in school hinges on being a hard worker and pursuing learning beyond just grades.
“I hope that students see the value of what we learn and how we learn it, and […] that it all has value in and of itself beyond the grade results,” Golden said.
She also uses her knowledge of psychology to emphasize the importance of sleep above all else.
“Sleep is the most important thing that you can do,” Golden said, “Nothing good happens at 2:00 AM. The best preparation that you can have for any test that you take or any day at school is sleep”.
In all, she looks forward to continuing to grow alongside the community of WIS. She yet again encourages students in and outside of class to take risks and embrace WIS and its uniqueness.
“Go for it. If you have an argument or an idea that you want to make, try it. Raise your hand, and see what happens,” Golden said, “Go for it. You’re at this incredible school”.
By Mahina Diaz-Asper
