Mr. Guingard Profile

Mr. Guignard is in his first year at Galloway as the French teacher for 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th graders. Before Galloway, Mr. Guignard went on a fascinating professional journey throughout the world, teaching in four other incredibly unique countries in different roles. He began his journey in his home country of Switzerland where he taught drama, French, history, and geography. From there, he went on to teach in Vietnam, Hungary, and Malawi as a World language and drama teacher at each school. Each one of these countries is incredibly unique from one another, and they have shaped who Mr. Guignard is both as a person and as a teacher. 

With such a diverse teaching background, Mr. Guignard has experienced all different types of cultures, and it is fair to assume that he might have been surprised at some cultural differences. However, when questioned about this, he said, “You get used to not being surprised because you are in so many different cultures that you get to experience over time.” 

Mr. Guignard is a very kind and respectful teacher, and I’m sure all of his students would attest to that statement, so it's no surprise to see his acceptance of others. In addition, when a teacher teaches so many cultures, it forces them to make a decision: either stick to their method of teaching or adapt to the culture. Mr. Guignard was asked about this topic during his interview and said, “Yes, you have to, because there are lots of subjects that are difficult to approach in different countries. You need to adapt where you are obviously, and you learn from all the experiences from the country, so you learn how to behave.” It is very important to assimilate into the culture and classroom norms. Mr. Guignard does that while also keeping up with his method of teaching to help students learn.

Mr. Guignard has had an incredibly long journey which eventually landed him at Galloway. He describes his experience at all schools he's been at as positive, stating, “All of them were fantastic for something. In Hanoi the school itself was incredible, in Budapest the team I worked with was incredible, and in Malawi, it was great because of the students.” 

When asked about Galloway compared to other schools, and what he liked about the school,he said,  “The team in the World Languages is very nice, and in general the people in Galloway are very welcoming. It's the first time I've been in a place where I can make mistakes and be ok. If there's a mistake [I work] together with others and make it better.” Mr. Guignard turned down offers from other schools across the world from Ivory Coast and Beijing to come to Galloway, as he said going to Galloway was best for his family, and the school stood out against the rest. He appreciated the prestige of the school, the joyfulness in the learning, and inclusion when deciding to come to Galloway.

Mr. Guingard said he has thoroughly enjoyed his time thus far at Galloway, and getting to learn the culture of the school, and of the students. While his journey at other schools is certainly fascinating, the students of Galloway hope that his journey is put on pause, so he can stay at Galloway for a while.

By Efe Colakoglu