This month, I had the privilege of sitting with Ms. Kirstin Boutilier, Ms. B, an English teacher and CAS coordinator at EARJ. Born in Canada, she has been teaching at EARJ for five years. Our conversation ranges from career and academics to Ms. B's favorite subject: cats.
PP: How did you decide to become an English teacher?
B: I didn't decide that; it just happened. I finished my undergraduate degree and could be better at math and science. So I took English, French, and German. I was going to go to law school and had taken the LSAT. But then, I had a baby and needed a good job. So my uncle said: 'If you like school so much, why don't you be a teacher?' I thought I wouldn't like it, but I fell in love!
PP: Did you envision moving around so much when you started teaching?
B: Not at all. I started teaching in Toronto 11 years ago. It was quite a large school, with 3000 students only from grades nine to twelve. It was violent but exhilarating. But my son Caleb was almost old enough to attend high school; he was twelve, so I knew that environment wouldn't be great for him. I stumbled across a job fair, found myself a job, and left.
PP: How long have you been in Brazil, and what made you come here?
B: This is our fifth year in Brazil. We came here because they chose us. There's a database where teachers are "advertised," like online dating, and they "swiped right." So we came, and it's charming here.
PP: You are the CAS coordinator at EARJ. How does that connect to you?
Service is crucial, especially when you're in a different country; you must give something back to the country you're a guest in. So I always try to be a role model and encourage students to
do it. I work with this community in the NGO "Mão do Bem." It's been a fantastic learning experience.
PP: You've mentioned being part of a samba school before. How was that?
B: Samba school makes me uncomfortable, but it's healthy to be in discomfort and do something that pushes you beyond what you're used to. I don't dance at all. So, being in a Samba School, dancing in front of millions of people was a challenge. It was also definitely demanding to try to learn Portuguese and to try to understand the culture and stories. Pushing myself into a level of discomfort has been good for me.
PP: During our CAS meetings, you have shown videos of your cat. What's his story?
B: Ignacio, El Presidente. A doorman found him in the tailpipe of a car. I had never had a pet, but he was so small and fluffy. Before, Mr. Sitch had said no pets, plants, or children. But now we have pets and plants and a kind of child. I'm in my significant cat years. I buy clothes with big cats on them, like lions and tigers. I'm also born in the year of the tiger in the Chinese Zodiac, and so are my son, my dad, and my nephew. We're all tigers.
PP: What are your favorite and least favorite things about teaching?
My favorite thing is learning because you must constantly rewrite, change, and read. My least favorite thing is grading papers and assigning marks. Also, the way that people are obsessed with grades. It's like fighting a battle over numbers when it's not about that. I understand why it is for some students, but I try to steer them away from this obsession because that's not what school should be.
Thank you, Ms. B, for answering our questions!
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