When Your Child Gets a Bad Grade: Our School Director on What Comes Next

Daniel did not always know that he would become a teacher. Wanting to serve society, he initially worked in hospitals and retirement homes. His direction became clearer during his National Service, when he worked as an instructor and met intelligent young people whose education had ended too soon.

“Clever young people, brighter than me, with no doors opening for them,” he recalls.

The experience showed him that ability alone does not determine a young person’s future. Opportunity, encouragement and access to a good education matter enormously.

That realisation shaped his career. Wherever he has worked, Daniel has tried to help students recognise their potential and attempt what may initially seem beyond their reach.

“That light shone for me over fifty years ago, and it is just as bright today. I have never lost that faith in young people, in whom I see all our futures.”

Daniel wants Nucleus students to become active participants in their education. They should learn not only to remember information, but also to ask good questions, examine evidence, solve problems, express their ideas and think independently. These abilities will prepare them for the next stages of their education and for a rapidly changing world.

Daniel’s international career has shown him that parents everywhere share the same fundamental hope: that their children will receive an excellent education and have the opportunity to build meaningful and successful lives.

It has also taught him that students should be prepared to engage with the wider world without losing their own identity.

“All of us are rooted in our cultural heritage, and rightly so,” he says. “We may appear to be different but, beneath the surface, that common humanity bonds us together.”

Daniel first came to Ethiopia during the time of the Dergue. Friendships that became like family, together with his respect for Ethiopia’s traditions and spiritual heritage, have continued to draw him back.

At Nucleus, he sees no contradiction between preserving Ethiopian identity and providing an internationally focused education. Students can remain grounded in who they are while developing the knowledge, confidence and intellectual skills to succeed anywhere in the world.

Daniel was attracted to Nucleus by the opportunity to help build a school from its early stages and contribute to the founders’ vision for educational opportunity.

He would like Nucleus to become “a beacon for educational growth”, a school recognised for the quality of its teaching, the seriousness of its learning and the progress its students make.

This vision begins in the classroom. Students should encounter lessons that challenge them to think, participate and apply what they have learned. Teachers should understand the needs of their students, maintain high standards and provide the guidance necessary for each child to move forward.

“Our students at Nucleus will become the movers and shakers of tomorrow,” Daniel says. “While they need their critical mental faculties, they also need their sensitivity and patience towards others.”

“Academic growth and personal growth go hand in hand.”