Teachers in the Spotlight: Muge Ozgonul
Teachers in the Spotlight is an ongoing series of articles, in which we interview our teaching staff, many of whom have remarkable backgrounds and a wealth of experience in education. Today, we would like to introduce Muge Ozgonul, our newest mathematics teacher here at Dulwich International High School Suzhou.
Muge Ozgonul is from Istanbul. The Turkish largest city Straddles the Bosporus strait, and lies in both Europe and Asia, and is the country’s economic, cultural and historic center.
Muge graduated from with a double major in astronomy and space sciences and mathematics from Istanbul University, and holds a master’s degree in Educational Management and Control from Yeditepe University. “While studying for my master’s degree I took classes from Harvard University”, Muge said.
Back in 1995, when asked “Can we offer astronomy lessons to the students?” by her Head of the School at Eyuboglu High School where she got her first job after graduation as a math’s teacher, Muge Ozgonul said yes without hesitation. She wrote the curriculum, helped building an observatory, and taught astronomy from 1995 to 2000. Muge explained that teaching astronomy often involved her working into the early hours of the morning to take astronomical observations for her students.
Teaching is Muge’s favorite job
Muge first made the decision to become a teacher while she was at university. She explained that she had done a lot of different jobs, but teaching was her favorite one. She told us that her biggest role model was her head of department at the school she used to teach at (she has now been promoted to the role of academic coordinator). Muge explained that she had been trained by her very well and, since they had worked together for 15 years, they had learned a lot from each other.
She worked in the same school for 24 years as IB DP& CAS Coordinator, IB DP Mathematics teacher, Head of Mathematics Department, and in other several positions. Muge loves to see students progressing and finds a deep satisfaction in seeing them actively learning and takes the time to develop good relationships with all her students.
Prior to joining Dulwich, She has been working as the Head of the Mathematics Department and IB DP&CAS Coordinator for two years at an international high school in China.
While discussing what she enjoys most about teaching in China, Muge told us that she sees strong similarities between Chinese and Turkish culture. For example, for Turkish families, children are very important. Also, both generally have a great respect for their elders and never leave parents or grandparents alone. Also, both Chinese and Turkish students are very respectful.
Bookworm, photographer and scuba diver
In terms of her hobbies and interest, Muge is a great reader. She told us that when she first moved to China, she wanted to bring two suitcases full of novels with her! The “Roads of Freedom” series by Jean Paul Sartre was her favorite book. She liked the first one the most. Her favorite film is a trilogy of films called The Three Colours Blue, White and Red.
She loves photography with a particular emphasis on astronomy. She’s also a keen scuba diver and would love to do more of it when time permits. Ever since she was a child, she has wanted to fly on a broomstick and was naturally drawn to the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling.
When we asked Muge what her plans were for the next 5 years, somewhat unsurprisingly (due to the current epidemic travel restrictions), she explained that it was very hard to plan during a pandemic, but that her top priority was to see her son. With a hint of sadness, she explained that because of Covid, she hasn’t been able to see her son or family for nearly two years. Muge’s son is 22 years old and is currently studying architecture.