• Our education system leaves teachers with too little time to actually meet the needs of their students. When I still worked as a school teacher, the limiting instructions and targets meant I could hardly use all the inspiring concepts and methods I had learned during teacher training. This sets us up for a lot of wasted potential on all sides.

• There are no wrong or even “stupid“ questions. Sometimes a student just needs an explanation from a new perspective or a reminder. I have the patience and make the time to answer these question for as long as necessary. In the end this saves time. Often I am told: “I have learned more during this one hour than in the last four weeks of maths classes in school”

• A lot of what we learn in maths class will never be used again for the rest of our lives. Obviously, this is also true for other subjects, but in this case the gap between applicability and perceived difficulty in understanding is especially wide. Our brains need a certain level of logic training and a well rounded general knowledge is a good thing. Still it is time to thoroughly revise our maths curriculum.

• At the same time the current crises show how critical it is to be able to assess probabilities, understand exponential growth and have a solid basic knowledge in biology and chemisty. My goal is to give as much of this to as many people as is possible.

In my blog, you can find out more about my ideas of meaningful transfer of knowledge, especially in maths.

• 1992 to 1998 – studying chemistry at the Carl-von-Ossietzky-University of Oldenburg und University of Nottingham (Sutton Bonington Campus): When I graduated from school, someone at the jobcenter advised me to choose chemistry. My long term goal was to “do something about the environmental problems”. My Diplom thesis was about heavy metals in soils. Back then, I met my former chemistry school teacher and gave him my promise that I would never, ever become a teacher 😉

• 1998 to 2002 – graduate studies, King's College, London: Researching hydrates and wax crystals that form in natural gas and crude oil pipelines, I fell futher in love with England. The language, the culture, the people.

• 2002 to 2004 – post-doc at the University of Potsdam: While I worked on sensors for measuring protein C in blood, I realised that the expectations within the academic system were for me to spout buzzwords and make noise to rake in grant money. This was completely add odds with my personality and I soon left this job.

• 2004 to 2005 – remote studies of “applied environmental sciences” at the University of Koblenz, cut short when I saw an ad by the Schleswig-Holstein ministry of education for lateral entrants into teaching at schools here.

• 2005 to 2007 – Teacher training in Glinde, working at schools in Dithmarschen: Contrary to what I had promised, teaching was exactly my thing as was the extra training as a reading coach. The bureacracy and all the limitatins were not. Time for another reorientation.

• 2012 to 2014 – training in systemic coaching with Conzendo: This course was transformative. For the first time in my life, I failed an exam at the first try. At the same time I experienced the joy of accompanying people through tricky processes.

• Since 2014 – self-employed as professional teacher and tutor, cooperating with adult education center in Brunsbüttel, Studienkreis (Elmshorn, Quickborn und Krupunder) and the Lerncoaches in Halstenbek.

• Currently, I am close to finishing the Danish course and enjoy brushing up my French on Duolingo. I am looking forward to all the new knowledge and expertise I am going to pick up in the coming years.