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International Student Program
International Student Program Coordinator - Paul Swanson
22-Jan-09
It is a joy and a privilege to work as both teacher and International Student Coordinator at Harmony School.
When I was a kid I loved to read science fiction and fantasy, I loved the idea of being heroic. My earliest guru was Yoda, and my heroes were lifted off the pages of Tolkien, Anne Rice, and Lloyd Alexander. Inspired by the stories of knights and swash-bucklers, I began fencing when I was eleven and competed nationally for four years. In addition to fencing, I began playing music when I was seven pursued classical piano up through the end of high school. When I was a freshman, my best friend began playing electric guitar and I began playing bass. Bass guitar led me to begin upright bass, and also led me to both orchestral and jazz music.
When the time came for college, I chose Oberlin because it had a top ranked liberal arts college along with a renowned music conservatory. I majored in Ethnomusicology and focused specifically on the relationship between West African music and Black music of the Americas. I took a year off during college to travel to Ghana to study music, dance, and religion, and my senior year I wrote an honors thesis on Brazilian music as a form of political resistance.
After I graduated, I went to work on a farm in Paoli, a small town in southern Indiana. After five months work I realized three things – 1) I loved living outside all the time, 2) I loved Bloomington, and 3) I wasn’t a farmer. After the growing season was over, I moved up to Bloomington and worked for a semester as a substitute teacher. Despite the occasional horror stories, I found that I truly loved teaching and wanted to go back and get my license. But before I began, I knew that I needed to go and live in Brazil, the land that I had spent so much time studying but had never seen. I spent four months there learning Portuguese, martial arts, and music. Then in December of 2004 I came back to Indiana University in Bloomington to begin an MA in Social Studies Education.
It was during this time that I first visited Harmony School and began working with Sallyann Murphey. Over the next three years I went from observer to student teacher to full-time employee. I began working full time when the art teacher went on sabbatical, and during that year I taught music, social studies, and a little martial arts.
Since then I have taken up the job of International Student Coordinator. I teach a variety of classes, from ethics to music history to world cultures to economics, but my primary role is to help the international students at Harmony adapt to life in Bloomington and succeed in their personal and academic goals. I teach a range of courses dedicated to this purpose, including basic English as a New Language, Academic English and SAT Preparation, and American Culture. It is a joy to work with such talented students and dedicated staff, and I strive every day to help our students succeed.
Back to International Student Program
Harmony Education Center
909 East 2nd Street, Bloomington, IN 47401
ph: 812/334.8349 fax: 812/333.3435
Comments? webmaster@harmonyschool.org
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