Harry Grace

Educator/Teacher

I am originally from England, now living and working in China. I work as a director of literacy in a large Chinese bilingual school which means overseeing Primary & Secondary English and the schools library programme. I am a passionate educator and consider myself a lifelong learner. One of my main focuses currently is on how we can empower students and their families to read more and benefit from the act of reading for pleasure.

As mentioned in my previous sections, I am a passionate reader and like to challenge myself to read as diversely as possible to increase my awareness of other cultures. Another big passion of mine is food. I am fascinated by not only the science behind why and what we eat, but also the connection between food and culture. This passion for food means that I am also actively trying to cultivate a passion for exercise to counter the drawbacks of the former passion.

In an age of increasing distractions, I think it is always important to remind people about the benefits of reading for pleasure. Reading can not only impact students educationally, but can lead to improved focus & concentration, cultural & social awareness and increased empathy. Things like creating a welcoming reading environment, tracking reading, rewarding reading and having a choice of books to read are all important factors in encouraging reading for pleasure, and I think knowing how to implement these strategies to create reading cultures at home is extremely valuable.

education, literature, reading

I am still early in my TED journey. My main experience with the talks has been through teaching and learning, where I frequently use the talks to instigate conversation. One of the most powerful experiences I have had was using the Talk -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story. I taught this in 2023 and students in my class still refer to it a year later. I hope to be able to bring TEDx into my current school to give students and stakeholders within the community the opportunity to spark their own discussions.

Playing the bass guitar. I love playing and listening music, like with reading, I try to listen as diversely as possible. In the classroom at the moment I've been lucky enough the involve Bob Dylan and Kendrick Lamar in the IB Literature curriculum, which has been really rewarding.