MY STORY AND JOURNEY
Ethnicity, History and Background
I grew up in a small village in Trinidad and Tobago named Barrackpore, and I am very proud of where I am from despite where life takes me. I came from a very humble and challenging background, but I am extremely grateful for all of these life experiences because they shaped me into the person that I am today. My ethnicity is Indian, however, I was not born in India. My ancestors came from India to Trinidad in May 1845 to work on sugar cane plantations when Britain governed India and Trinidad and Tobago. As a result, the official language in Trinidad and Tobago is English but many of my ancestors also spoke Hindi, a language which I only know a few words of, but wish that I could speak. While I did not develop the ability to speak Hindi, I did acquire great and strong cultural values and was exposed to a culture that I feel fortunate to be a part of. There are many celebrations within the Indian culture and I am grateful to have been able to experience these and understand their deeper connections. This knowledge and experience invoked the desire to make deeper connections in all other aspects of my life, including education.
My Educational Journey and Story
I attended Inverness Presbyterian School, a small primary school in the village that I grew up in. It was about 2 miles from home and I walked to and from it every day for 5 years. I am very appreciative of the passion my teachers had for education and for teaching and was extremely lucky to have had teachers who truly cared about me and took extreme interest in my educational journey as well as had a deep desire to have me attain success. In 1989, I took the Common Entrance Exam for the first time, but I did not get accepted into the school of my first choice, and this was extremely shocking to my teachers and those who knew my potential and I was advised to try this test again.
I attended Grant Memorial Presbyterian School for one year where I re-took the Common Entrance Exam. I was only accepted into this school because of the Form 5 teacher, Mrs. Poliah . The principal allowed her to make the decision of enrolling me in her class as she was already teaching 48 students, some of whom did not have standard desks. Despite this, she accepted me into her class and apart from being a phenomenal teacher, she made me feel extremely welcomed and comfortable! I will never forget Mrs. Poliah and the impact she had on my learning and self-confidence! Because of her care, commitment and passion for teaching and learning, I was able to gain more knowledge which I applied when taking the Common Entrance test the second time around and was successful in attaining the school of my first choice. It was a joyous day when my teacher read out my Common Entrance results and I heard that I had passed for Naparima Girls' High School!
While I give extensive credit to all of my educational institutions, I give special credit to Naparima Girls' High School as this school truly provided me with a holistic education and the foundation for me to continue to acquire profound knowledge. Naparima Girls' High School is a prestigious school in the city of San-Fernando and one that I was extremely fortunate to have attended since I grew up in the country in Trinidad and Tobago. My high school's motto is Nos Nobis Solum Sed Omnibus, the Latin for "Not for ourselves only, but for others" and the school hymn is "Youth Undaunted". The deep and powerful words in this motto and hymn have contributed tremendously in impacting my values and outlook in life! There are so many other things that I loved about this school, and it is great to see these traditions being carried on to this day! I took pride in and loved wearing my "Naps" uniform, and in having to embroider the design on my shirt relating to my House, Archibald. I loved the house system, Prefects and Head Girl model, and the fact that all students were required to do Music, P.E., Art, Cooking, Sewing, Spanish, French and Literature within the first three years of school! I loved our Sports Days and the many events that we had during these times. Very importantly, I loved that I was provided with a rigorous, real-world and profound education and know that this school truly contributed to shaping me into the learner and person that I am today!
First Generation College Graduate
I was extremely happy when I got accepted into The University of The West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, the only university in my country at that time. I worked extremely hard spending many hours at the library and at home doing projects and assignments. Along the way, I had to repeat a few courses, but this helped me acquire a growth mindset as I learned from my mistakes and never gave up. It was a proud day for me when I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics as I became a first generation college graduate who was ready to make a great life for myself and a difference in the world!
I was extremely happy when I got accepted into The University of The West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, the only university in my country at that time. I worked extremely hard spending many hours at the library and at home doing projects and assignments. Along the way, I had to repeat a few courses, but this helped me acquire a growth mindset as I learned from my mistakes and never gave up. It was a proud day for me when I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics as I became a first generation college graduate who was ready to make a great life for myself and a difference in the world!
My Teaching Career in Trinidad and Tobago
I taught high school math in Trinidad and Tobago for 15 years during which I did whatever it took to ensure that my students acquired growth! After two years of teaching in the city, I requested to be relocated to a school in the village in which I grew up so that I could help these students believe in their dreams, so I got a transfer and taught at this school until July 2007. I am so proud of my students and their life's achievements! Apart from designing curriculum that was rigorous and real-world, I also focused on helping my students acquire personal growth and believing in their dreams. During Advisory time, and at times during math class, I read an inspirational article "Each Day a New Beginning" that was published daily in the local newspaper. I brought these articles to the U.S to read to my students in NC, and they also enjoyed them.
Journey to America
In 2007, I applied to teach in the U.S through the Visiting International Faculty (VIF) Program, an organization that recruits teachers from around the world. I was one of 800 teachers accepted from thousands of applicants, so I resigned my job in Trinidad and Tobago, sold all of my belongings that could not fit in a suitcase, and on July 29th, I moved to the U.S with two suitcases to live and teach. Many people told me I was too adventurous and that I should not make the move, but I knew that the Universe was taking my hand in this journey and had great things in store for me.
I was placed at The International Studies School at Garinger in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I taught math, served as Department Chair, Teacher Leader, Teacher Mentor, Algebra and Geometry Lead Teacher and at times, Math Facilitator and Workshop Presenter. Since this school had an international focus, lesson designs were required to be real-world and globally connected. Also, Asia Society was a partner with this school, and I was given the opportunity to attend many workshops that focused on rigorous learning experiences and project based learning. These workshops allowed me to incorporate inquiry based tasks that allowed students to think at a deeper level.
In 2003, my family and I relocated to Iowa, where I taught Math to English Language Learners. There, I served as a Demonstration Teacher for the school district and was required to record, edit and upload lessons that highlighted elements in Marzano's Framework . I also applied to and was accepted as a Trailblazer ( integrating technology), since I wanted to share the ways that I was integrating technology with my students. Additionally, I served on the school's leadership team and worked with my leaders to provide workshops to teachers and suggestions to impact teaching and learning as well as school culture.
In 2007, I applied to teach in the U.S through the Visiting International Faculty (VIF) Program, an organization that recruits teachers from around the world. I was one of 800 teachers accepted from thousands of applicants, so I resigned my job in Trinidad and Tobago, sold all of my belongings that could not fit in a suitcase, and on July 29th, I moved to the U.S with two suitcases to live and teach. Many people told me I was too adventurous and that I should not make the move, but I knew that the Universe was taking my hand in this journey and had great things in store for me.
I was placed at The International Studies School at Garinger in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I taught math, served as Department Chair, Teacher Leader, Teacher Mentor, Algebra and Geometry Lead Teacher and at times, Math Facilitator and Workshop Presenter. Since this school had an international focus, lesson designs were required to be real-world and globally connected. Also, Asia Society was a partner with this school, and I was given the opportunity to attend many workshops that focused on rigorous learning experiences and project based learning. These workshops allowed me to incorporate inquiry based tasks that allowed students to think at a deeper level.
In 2003, my family and I relocated to Iowa, where I taught Math to English Language Learners. There, I served as a Demonstration Teacher for the school district and was required to record, edit and upload lessons that highlighted elements in Marzano's Framework . I also applied to and was accepted as a Trailblazer ( integrating technology), since I wanted to share the ways that I was integrating technology with my students. Additionally, I served on the school's leadership team and worked with my leaders to provide workshops to teachers and suggestions to impact teaching and learning as well as school culture.
My Career Goal
It is my career goal to be an Instructional Coach so that I can share my knowledge gained and support teachers in becoming even more dynamic in impacting teaching and learning. Apart from having an Instructional Coaching Certificate and a Master's Degree in Teacher Effectiveness and Professional Development, I continue to gain knowledge and experience to be able to one day serve as an invaluable coach that will highly impact teaching and learning. I have a deep passion for curriculum designs that allow learners to perform tasks that apply math to real world situations and integrate it across content areas. Additionally, I love sharing what I have learned during my years of teaching, and continue to find ways to be a change agent as well as meet the needs of all learners.
It is my career goal to be an Instructional Coach so that I can share my knowledge gained and support teachers in becoming even more dynamic in impacting teaching and learning. Apart from having an Instructional Coaching Certificate and a Master's Degree in Teacher Effectiveness and Professional Development, I continue to gain knowledge and experience to be able to one day serve as an invaluable coach that will highly impact teaching and learning. I have a deep passion for curriculum designs that allow learners to perform tasks that apply math to real world situations and integrate it across content areas. Additionally, I love sharing what I have learned during my years of teaching, and continue to find ways to be a change agent as well as meet the needs of all learners.
My Family
I am in a same-sex marriage and my wife is of Caucasian descent and originally from Charlotte, NC. She is my rock and my pillar of strength! She also has a passion for education and was an Instructional Technology Coach/Coordinator for 5 years. She is now an instructional designer with Farm Texas Bank of Texas where she gets to apply knowledge gained from pursuing a masters in instructional systems technology. Please visit her website, melaniegildharry.weebly.com to see her amazing work. My wife has been instrumental in impacting my growth with technology integration. Being in a same-sex marriage has sometimes presented us with negativity, challenges, discrimination and unkind behaviors. We have also lost friends and relatives as a result of our relationship and marriage, but we continue to stay positive and know that we are blessed and guided by the divine forces from above. As a family, we provide endless support to each other and enjoy spending time together. We have two doggies, Isadora and Nallan, who are like our children and who truly believe that they are human kids. Isadora is a Border Collie mix and Nallan is mixed with Australian Shepherd. We had a pet iguana named Icarus, but sadly, he passed away three years ago. We miss him very much and created a memorial spot for him under the stairs in the backyard near our hammocks so that we can communicate with him whenever we hang out there. I have shared some additional pictures of our pets! Visit The Gildharry Family (https://chemelgildharry.weebly.com) to learn more about our family.
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Our Celebrations
We have blended our cultures to form our own Ameri-Indian culture, and celebrate any and every monumental day within our cultures, as well as others. I have shared some of these celebrations below.