Meet the Team: Robert Marthaller, Head of Language and Literature

1. What made you want to be part of the GNS community? I was drawn into the Middle School by the MYP, having taught in MYP schools before. But, the proximity of the campus to the beach didn’t hurt either. 2. How did you choose teaching as the right career path?It was the only job that perfectly blended my skill set of juggling, telling terrible jokes and memorizing random facts. 3. What is the best part about your day and why? The best part of my day is always that moment when I get to actually see learning: a student’s eyebrow raises slightly and a little light switches on. This is what it’s all about. 4. What are some of your interests outside of school?I love to build things! I spend the early mornings roaming the lumber aisles of Home Depot or Castle with my daughter, and then I spend the rest of the day putting together a custom chair, table, ceiling cover, swing set, or whatever else!  5. What is something most people don’t know about you? Most people don’t know that I put myself through college and university by acting in film and television. Thank goodness that was before YouTube, and it’s all impossible to find now. They also wouldn’t know that a friend and I attempted to break the Guinness World Record for continuous crawling. We spent more than 17 hours on our hands and knees, and we crawled almost 30KM around a track. Unfortunately, we came up short. And, man, did my knees hurt.    6. What do you like about living and working in Victoria?This is truly one of the friendliest, most beautiful, and most liveable cities in the world. I love walking to work (in only a light coat) in December along tree-lined streets hearing, “Good morning” and “How are ya?” from people I don’t know. This is exactly the place we imagined when thinking of an ideal place to bring up our son and daughter.  7. Who is your favourite character in literature and why?I wouldn’t call it literature, but when I taught kindergarten for a few years, I loved reading Junie B. Jones with the kids. She’s flawed, she’s curious, and she’s hilarious.