RuthHarperBroome - Ruth Harper Broome

Ruth Harper Broome

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I sat on an airplane to New York with my two-year-old son twenty-eight years ago. We were flying out to meet his father who was a jobbing actor and performing in Brooklyn. The women next to me was an International Supply Teacher and we chatted away during the flight. I thought at the time ‘what an amazing way to see the world.’ I come from a family of teachers; my great grandad was a window dresser in a big store in Manchester and a self-taught lifelong learner. My grandma was a passionate socialist and culture vulture. We would visit the art galleries in Manchester from being very young and sketch from life as a pastime. She taught us to be respectful of others and to strive hard to improve ourselves. As the eldest child I was a natural teacher; my brothers would probably say bossy, but I loved to lead other children in putting on plays or making dens, setting up makeshift businesses. It might be seen as Project Based Learning now but that was my childhood – a little band of us, always busy planning something, with massive imaginations, and full of resourcefulness.

During my teens I became fully immersed in my local amateur dramatic society. This meant taking on a full range of roles; from assistant stage manager, make up and costumes, set building, lighting operating to acting. I loved being part of the company and the passion of the people who were running the Garrick Players in their spare time. There was a seriousness and dedication to something that went beyond a monetary value. I learnt to be independent and as a very shy child, to act the part of being confident, even if I wasn't. The adults around me were nurturing and encouraging and as a group of teenagers me and my friends were treated with respect and equality. Our group all went on to have careers in the arts and I’m so grateful for those early experiences. I loved to create, I still do and the need to do that drove me to try acting and to be an artist for many years. With the birth of my son, I looked around for more security. I think because education, learning and being creative had always been a given in my home growing up I just love learning and couldn’t help but pass that on. I spent time as a Teaching Assistant in a Primary school and was given the task of supporting a small group of Year Fives who had fallen behind. I was able to use all sorts of creative ways to engage them including putting on a play where they wrote, designed, made, marketed, and presented their story. Seeing their growth really gave me the drive to do my teacher training.

I also love to travel so in 2018 I decided to take the plunge and teach abroad. My destination was here in Chengdu, China. I have taken to the life here like a duck to water. The opportunities for learning and challenging myself have been phenomenal. I have trekked, written, read poetry, won a place to exhibit my artwork in the Sangxingdu Museum, become close to people in my local community and from school, met people from dozens of other countries, had so many blue-sky moments there is a book waiting to be written. I have a thirst for learning that is engrained in me and living and working abroad has been the biggest opportunity for me to explore life beyond. I enjoy the feeling of not knowing and searching, challenging myself, of making unlikely connections and appreciating the world from different perspectives. I’m grateful for every enriching day, and for the conversation on an airplane twenty-eight years ago.

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