Aldaine Wynter talks through his journey into becoming a Global Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator.
Before I became a teacher, I was a gymnastics coach for over 13 years. I had the pleasure to work with talented young athletes from ages 4 to 16. I began coaching in London working with young athletes who aspired to compete at the British Championships. I even had the opportunity to coach abroad in Pennsylvania, USA. It was in the US that I started to seriously consider teaching as I enjoyed being a counsellor to the young people. As such, the following year I began my journey into teaching by starting my PGCE at UCL. As soon as I finished my PGCE I took a job at Dwight School to teach mathematics in the Diploma and Middle Years Programme. Being eager to continue my studies, I started my MA in Social Justice at UCL whilst on my NQT year. I chose to study social justice because I was intrigued by the ideology around masculinity and race and wanted to see how research could be applied to my international school context.
Straight after completing my MA, I became Assistant Head of Pastoral and had the opportunity to apply some of the things I learnt as a middle leader. Having the opportunity to work on activities for Black History Month, LGBTQ+ History Month, as well as International Women’s Day, was a great chance to raise awareness of national events that I felt passionate about. After a year working as the assistant head of pastoral, I was promoted as head of pastoral. And, like clockwork, the following academic year I became the Global Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for Dwight School.
I realised that I could make a significant impact if I engaged with likeminded people
My role as Global Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator has been a unique and exciting opportunity to connect with DEI leads around the globe and make an impact outside of the walls of my school. I think it was the first time as an educator that I realised that I could make a significant impact if I engaged with like-minded people and organisations. It has been a pleasure to write a series of blogs for Optimus Education as well as the Independent Schools Council. In 2021 I presented at the International Baccalaureate’s Conference, where I spoke to school leaders about developing anti-racism initiatives in their schools. 2021 was a busy year that ended with a feature in Independent Education Today on the work I had been doing in relation to DEI and school.
In 2021 Dwight School won The Independent Schools Association (ISA) Award for Excellence and Innovation in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. It was an honour to accept the award on behalf of the school and it has really motivated me in 2022 to increase the visibility of Black male educators in independent education. This year I was accepted on Google’s Diverse EdTech Educators course, a course that aims to promote Black and Asian educators being Google Certified Trainers.
2022 has only just begun, but I intend to continue to network and engage with all the educators I can.
For my next article, I will look at some of my favourite initiatives I have implemented and talk about the beauty of working with colleagues across the globe. I have had the pleasure of working with outstanding educators who are dedicated to embedding DEI throughout the school community. Look out for the next article!