In this episode, I’m speaking to Ben Walker. Ben is an English and TOK teacher here in Hong Kong as well as the current CAS coordinator. Next year he will be taking up the Head of Secondary English role at his current school.

We discuss:

1. The best book he’s ever read, taught or been taught

2. The advantages and disadvantages of running the 5 year MYP course all the way up to the DP

3. His perspective on inquiry and authentic assessment and whether they look different in Year 7 v.s. Year 11 

4. How much Ben’s current school implement the element of service within the curriculum and the directions he’s considering moving forward

5. The feasibility of CAS playing a part in the academic curriculum

6. And finally, a somewhat insular one but HK v.s. Singapore. What's the difference and what's Ben’s advice if considering a move from one to the other

Thanks again to Ben for his eloquence and insights across the CAS and English curriculum. 

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Links:

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop

Black Boy by Richard Wright

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa