Abi Hawkins
It was a pleasure this week to interview Abi Hawkins, Head of Religious Education at Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School in Canterbury. Abi teaches Key Stages 3-5 and she explains that she always wanted to become a teacher and why she especially enjoys teaching subjects she struggled with the most at university, e.g. Philosophy of Language.
Abi, who was born in Canterbury and brought up in Whitstable, reveals that she once considered acting, and we discuss the extent to which the teaching profession could be considered a form of acting. Abi belonged to a drama club when she was young and played an orphan in the musical ‘Annie’ at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.
Abi reveals what her earliest memories are, which precipitates a conversation about the way in which holidays require us to navigate the break in our routinized lives.
Regarding musical memories Abi recalls how when she was ten years of age she went to Australia and remembers listening to a CD of upbeat cover songs. She has a genuine wish to go back to Adelaide and explains why she would have to manage her expectations if she did so.
Abi then tells us why in some respects she feels she missed out on the university experience due to not moving away from home and we discuss the relative merits of staying in the local area vs. going elsewhere. Abi explains why she cried after going to her first Logic seminar at university but which ended up becoming her favourite topic and which she now teaches.
In terms of filmic influences, we learn that Abi is not a fan of 3D, and we find out what her all time favourite Christmas movie is (clue: there are Muppets in it!) and why she unexpectedly found herself hating it when she went to a sing-a-long version of this movie and won’t now go to anything interactive. We learn what her favourite cinema experience is and why she enjoys using film in her teaching, e.g. ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ in the context of learning about conscientious objectors.
The conversation then moves on to how students have become more involved in politics now than was the case in the past, and Abi talks about how at a primary school where she once taught the pupils had a ‘Brexit Day’. She talks about how people don’t tend to simply vote in the way their parents did any more. We also then talk about the assumptions people make about why we teach religion, and the challenging occasion when she was once asked in a bar to explain what Philosophy is.
In the final part of the interview, Abi reveals how she always loved school, especially the pressure that exams give, and we learn why she feels she has fulfilled the dreams she had when she was young and why she is always wanting more. She explains why she is still in touch with her four best friends from school and we find out whether Abi is a looking back or a looking forward type of person.
Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Abi Hawkins and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.