From a temporary stay to six years by the sea
Bianca’s journey to Lithuania began thousands of kilometers from Palanga – in the United States, where she met her future Lithuanian husband. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple decided to temporarily settle in Lithuania.
“Initially, it was meant to be a temporary solution; we thought we would only stay for a short while. However, after spending our first summer in Palanga, we were completely captivated. What was supposed to be temporary turned into six years, and it’s not over yet. We built a life here and had two children,” Bianca openly shares.
An unexpected turn: international pedagogical experience
When it was time for her elder child to start kindergarten, Bianca discovered the primary school-kindergarten “Baltic International School”. Initially, she was interested in the school’s educational philosophy, focused on positive education, individual attention to the child, and successfully combining Lithuanian primary education and Cambridge curricula. However, a mother’s simple curiosity soon turned into a conversation about professional opportunities at the school, according to a press release.
“Very quickly, the conversation shifted from questions as a mother to asking if there were any open teaching positions at the school. It was one of those moments when everything naturally fell into place. I saw a school whose values closely align with my own beliefs about education, and I was thrilled by the opportunity to become part of that community,” she recalls.
A teacher who builds confidence and changes the perception of grammar
Although this is her first experience working in an international school environment, Bianca has previously worked as a first-grade teacher. She worked on a rotation basis: teaching in five different classes per week, meaning she had worked with approximately 150 students by the end of each week.
Working in Lithuania became an opportunity for her to rethink the learning process itself. Bianca doesn’t hide that the fear of making a grammatical error in her own childhood long hindered her desire to communicate, so now she strives to create an environment where students feel confident and secure.
“One of the biggest changes for me in this school was not the children themselves, but the learning environment. Here, students come to class with very different experiences and varying levels of English proficiency, but instead of seeing linguistic differences as an obstacle, I see them as an opportunity where children learn not only from me but also from each other. I am still learning Lithuanian myself and I see that it happens more naturally and easily when I am surrounded by patient people. Therefore, in my lessons, I don’t focus on perfect grammar – I show examples and naturally repeat sentences. This allows children to relax and focus on communication,” Bianca explains.
Active learning and the mission to raise open-minded individuals
Bianca’s lessons place a strong emphasis on experiential and active learning – methods that are an important part of the Cambridge educational philosophy. Students learn through practical activities: constructing words using blocks or beads, participating in team games, relays, and various creative tasks.
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In this way, children naturally connect language with experience, develop critical thinking, communication skills, and self-confidence. The educator is convinced that the most effective learning occurs when a child is actively involved in the process and feels safe to try, explore, and make mistakes.
Her approach is perfectly reflected in her favorite quote: “Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn.”
“My mission as a teacher is to create an environment where children never stop exploring. I believe that learning is not just about memorizing information, but also about being comfortable asking questions and learning from mistakes,” says Bianca.
She adds that it is precisely the values of “Baltic International School” – positive education, internationalism, and individual attention to the child – that allow this approach to be successfully implemented in daily educational practice:
“In our school, students learn alongside classmates with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. I believe that such an environment helps children grow to be more open-minded, curious, and better prepared for the modern world.”
The educator invites families looking for a professional, international, and child-empowering educational environment to join the school community. Currently, students are welcome in Cambridge pre-primary, first, and second grades.
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