With the coming of each new school year, students are thrilled to meet their new teachers.
This year, Mr. Dylan Fleming is our new history and social studies teacher. We have sent our skilled interviewer, Salma El Etreby, to ask Mr. Dylan all the students’ burning questions about his life, his past, and his interests. Read on to find out more about Mr. Dylan.
S: Tell us, in your own words, who IS Mr. Dylan?
D: Well, my name is Dylan, I’m from Ireland, and I teach history as an elective class. I also teach social studies for the upper grades. I studied history in college and… well, history has always been an interest of mine so I guess I’m really excited about this. I also just moved to Dubai like, a couple months ago so this is new.
S: What was it like growing up in Ireland?
D: I grew up in a really small town, so everyone knew everyone. The school was right across the road. My elementary school- well, the schools are different. So you go to a different town for secondary school. I got to know a lot of new people; it was really inclusive. I had some problems with meeting people here but I got to know them better, played sports with a couple of Irish guys.
S: How did you feel when you moved to Dubai?
D: It’s a lot more different than Ireland, of course. I was sort of homesick at the start. My brother lives here as well so I have some family here, too. It wasn’t so bad.
S: So, why did you move to Dubai? Were you a teacher in Ireland, too?
D: Not many job opportunities in Ireland. Teaching in Ireland was just a part of my college course.
D: How’s Dubai treating you so far? How do you like the school?
Yeah, it’s nice. It’s nice, I like it a lot to far. The students and everything, they’re all very nice. At first they were a little rowdy but they’ve adjusted now so… yeah, they’re fine.
S: As everyone’s favorite history teacher, do you actually like teaching history?
D: Yes! Like I’ve said before, I’ve always been interested in history. I’ve always wanted to do history; I like history, I like the world wars and stuff. I actually majored in history in college. And psychology. I’m mostly interesting in modern stuff. World war is good and all, but… I prefer Irish history.
S: What was it like first stepping into our classes?
D: There’s always a feeling of nervousness for the first time, but all the students were very welcoming and that helped a lot… they made it easier on me.
S: Alright, if you could go back in time, would you change anything? Path? Career?
D: Well, see… I’ve tried other things before, like… I was going to become a cop in Ireland. I got through but I just quit it. I did want to be a cop for a while but it just wasn’t going to work out. Too many hours, bad pay. Then, I tried psychology. If anything, I’d go back and do more sports. I quit sports when I was younger because of college and I just had no time.
S: Speaking of sports, are there any in particular you enjoy partaking in? Like, sort of as a hobby? D: I play a lot of football and hurling. Hurling’s an Irish sport. There’s a club in Dubai, so… yeah.
S: Is there anyone you look up to?
D: In terms of, like, life? There’s a few people, like, locally… I look up to my parents. Apart from that, there’s a few sports people I look up to for inspiration. Just a few Irish people I look up to; Michael Collins… he fought for Irish independence. If it weren’t for him then we’d still be under Britain.
S: Alright, well it seems like we’re out of time. Once again, thank you very much for letting us interview you and we look forward to having you as our teacher. Is there anything you look forward to in particular in teaching us? Anything you’d like to say?
D: Thank you very much for having me here. I look forward to the next semester and teaching everyone about history, it’s really interesting. Can’t wait.