Teacher of the Day: Emily Gironda

Today's teacher is Emily Gironda. This is Emily's fifth year teaching at SEP. She teaches two classes to 7th and 8th graders: Introduction to Code Breaking and Spyology in the morning and The Rise and Fall of the Dictator in the afternoon. 

What’s your class like? Can you describe them?

Over the years at SEP, I've developed a reputation for teaching the "weird class", weird meaning dark and sinister. For example, spyology is a lot of breaking codes and cyphers, but also the role of cryptography in war, criminology and terrorism. My afternoon class is the Rise and Fall of Dictators, which builds on students' fundamental knowledge of Hitler and other well known dictators, but takes a deeper look at specific strategies that dictators use to manipulate others, to gain and stay in power.

What's something about you someone might not expect if they didn't know you well?

People are surprised that I have those kinds of interests because I’m a happy blonde girl. People don’t realize I’m a nerd. Any nerdy past time – I’ve probably been interested in it. And I love dinosaurs. 

What made you want to come back and teach this summer?

The kids. They are the best kids in the world.

Do you have a favorite memory from past years? 

Every single time a kid has told me that my class is the best class they’ve ever taken. Just this morning, a kid told me that she wished there were classes like this in her regular school. 

What do you think is the most difficult part of the job? 

Planning my classes can be difficult because I want so badly to include topics that are genuinely interesting to kids, so I’m always asking myself if I was a seventh grader, would I be interested in this or not. Which leads to me throwing a lot of stuff out.

What do you think is the most rewarding part of the job?

It's amazing to see kids come back year after year and take your class. You really develop a close relationship with them, even though it's only 9 days. For example, I’m still emailing with a camper from 5 years ago who lives in China. She sent me a postcard from the North Pole and I helped her with her college admissions essay to an english University. 

What do you think of gifted education?

It's my personal crusade in education to provide enrichment to kids. Schools spend so much time with remediation, they forget to allocate resources towards enrichment.