Chris Lewis

Chris-Lewis

Role: Educational Director, Teacher
Favourite Subject(s): Mathematics and Science
Hometown: Cardiff, Wales
Education: University of the West of England, Bristol

A WORD FROM CHRIS:

“Growing up in the capital city of Wales, Cardiff, I was surrounded by every amenity imaginable, yet it was a calling to the wild away from the buildings that always captured my attention and time. I took part in outdoor clubs, cubs and scouts, and played all the sports that were readily available. I loved, and continue to love, pushing myself to learn new things, participate in new activities, games and sports, travel to new places, and meet new people. The satisfaction of overcoming a challenging target, problem, skill, or puzzle has always been worth the effort, work, and occasional pain and frustration. It was these desires and challenges that uprooted my life and brought me halfway across the world to the Sea to Sky region to experience, understand and fully appreciate everything this area has to offer. I loved it so much that a 2-year temporary visa looks like it will be a lifelong adventure.

It was new people, things and adventures that made me realize I wanted to teach. While in university, I seized an opportunity to work on an outdoor recreational summer camp in North Carolina. After a couple of seasons working on camp ‘teaching’ new skills and providing opportunities and encouragement for campers to push themselves physically, socially, and emotionally, I realized I could, and would be good at, also helping push students to grow academically.

In 2013, I completed my teacher education program in the University of the West of England, Bristol through a complete Bachelors of Arts degree. Through this course, I was incredibly fortunate to have extensive placements in a range of settings, with a range of grades. In my own experiences, I have worked in both traditional and non-traditional settings – in schools with everything imaginable, and schools with almost nothing – and taught from the very youngest learners, to adults up in their golden years. In my practice, I combine education theory, with my passion and background of the outdoors, to find a balance of atmospheres that allows children to move, make noise, and experience their learning in ways that make sense to them. I believe in a multidisciplinary approach to learning that blurs the lines of traditional subjects. I strive to find creative ways to show that learning and skills are real rather than a lesson in a classroom. I love finding opportunities to get outside and do something, rather than learn about something – no matter what the topic is. Critically and fundamentally, I believe in teaching a person at their own individual level and to their own individual needs, encouraging everyone to take ownership of their learning, and to support in overcoming challenges to aid understanding and ability.

Making mistakes and finding things hard is the first step to learning something. If it was easy, were we learning, or just completing tasks?

I am thoroughly excited to be a part of Summit Academy and work together to grow, learn, and push ourselves to progress. The challenge awaits…