We are excited to introduce the new addition to our school’s faculty: Mr. Paul Robinson, our new Athletics and Activities Director. With an eagerness to provide students valuable opportunities for new experience, Mr. Robinson is set to make a positive impact on our school community.
Mr. Robinson got his Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Sport & Fitness Science/Health Science from the University of Luton and his Master's degree with distinction (Performance Football Coaching) from St. Mary's University. He has a FFA/AFC Coaching License (Australia/Scotland), Management and School Leadership Certification (Harvard Business School), and other certificates.
Mr. Robinson has been working in education for more than 20 years, including 16 years as a teacher. Paul's interests include volleyball, basketball, swimming, softball, cricket, football, freeletics, gym, fitness, DDPY, boxercise coaching, cycling, running, golf, travel, history, music, cooking, and reading.
Mr. Robinson has an impressive background in sports and physical education. With his passion for interacting with students and ability to develop new programs in DAIS, Mr. Robinson is a perfect fit for our school!
DAIS Grade 12 student Jinseo Kim met with Mr. Robinson to ask him a few questions.
Jinseo: What was your greatest challenge in student teaching? How did you resolve it?
Mr. Robinson: The biggest challenge I’ve had in my career (that has mainly been in China) is a perception of the PE teacher and a perception of sport being not as important. Everybody here just wants to get top grades. So, for me the biggest challenge was letting students and parents know that being holistic and well-rounded and taking opportunities in other areas is something that actually sets you apart when you’re applying for university or college or whatever you may aspire to do. You can have all the best grades in the world, but it’s a very competitive area, and you’re competing against people who may have those same results. I set things up and create an atmosphere to show that what makes you exceptional, what makes you different, an individual - that’s where the holistic value of education comes in, whether it be sports (which is my area) or performing arts. I think that the biggest thing to overcome when teaching students in Asia is actually to let them understand the value of sport, physical activity and performing arts that goes around their studies.
Mr. Robinson (right) at the DAIS Family Fun Run
Jinseo: What are your strengths as a teacher?
Mr. Robinson: I think my strength as a teacher has changed over time. When I first started, I was fairly strict, now I’m a lot more balanced, a lot more fair, a lot more understanding. I believe that comes with experience of working with a variety of different students. I’m trying to give students I teach the belief that anything is possible and there’s no ceiling for them. I have a phrase that I use in my classes: if I see you trying your best, then I’ll forgive you everything else in terms of ability levels. I tell the students that they may well surprise themselves in terms of what they can achieve. I’d say that my strength now is giving people the confidence that ‘I can do this’.
Jinseo: What makes you a good fit for DAIS?
Mr. Robinson: I think coming out of COVID times is very much an opportunity. My reputation in previous schools has always been as somebody who's developed programs and pretty much from nothing. Obviously here it's a little bit different. There are programs that are established, so I can use the skill sets that I have to develop things and try to further enhance the program by identifying the gaps and then trying to fill them as best as I can and creating more opportunities for students. That's probably where I'm going to be a good fit because I'm all about trying to create more opportunities for the student body, opportunities that haven't been around for a while through nobody's fault, mainly due to the circumstances of COVID.
Left to right: Dr. Swann (Head of School), Mr. Robinson, Ms. Linda Maria (PSG President)
Jinseo: What characteristics do you want students in DAIS to possess?
Mr. Robinson: Characteristics I'd probably look for in a Sea Dragon or a Dalian American International School student is balance and understanding that we need to have a commitment to your studies, absolutely, but also need to understand that there's a space and time for sport, for the arts, for other activities that you might be interested in. Creating that balance is so important for a healthy mind, a healthy body and for your wellbeing. You should understand that of course you need to be hardworking to succeed, but you need to be balanced in everything that you do as well.
Jinseo: What are some of the goals you have for DAIS this year?
Mr. Robinson: The goals that I have stem from opportunity. I think there're great opportunities now in terms of further enhancing the sports program, particularly with regard to middle school and primary school. That's going to take time. We can't be certain whether that happens this year or not, but it's definitely something I'm interested in developing. If we introduce innovations on the school level, that's going to filter up and make us even more successful at ACAMIS level. From the activities viewpoint, I definitely would like to create more opportunities in different areas. For example, World Scholars' Cup, or potentially e-Sports, let's see if we can get some link-ups with other companies in the area. Also, we should really get some exciting field trips going. Hopefully, we will start to work with some residentials where we can take the students away. Again, that's going to take time to build as a project, but these are my goals for this year. I just want to bring more opportunities to the students at the school.
By offering a wide range of athletics and activities for our students to engage with, we enhance the DAIS/DHS experience significantly. It is also great to see our student-led ASA's providing our senior students the opportunity to be excellent role-models for our students.
As Mr. Robinson is here in DAIS to support and guide students on a journey of creating new programs, we are confident that he will bring a fresh perspective and a wealth of knowledge to our school. We encourage all students in DAIS to embrace the opportunities that Mr. Robinson will bring to our school. Let's give him a warm welcome and get ready for an exciting and active school year ahead!
