Smaranda Nicolau

Teacher of Drama and Media Studies

I’m Smaranda Nicolau, or, as my Avenorian students call me, Miss de Drama (and more recently, also of Media Studies). I did not always know that I will become a teacher, I had an indecisive academic and professional background – I first studied Philosophy at the University of Bucharest, then I worked in PR in the publishing industry, then I studied Acting at UNATC and finally I I decided that the Master of Theater Pedagogy was the place where I had to start from the beginning.

From the first interaction with the children I knew that this was the right decision for me. After years of teaching, I came to Avenor and again felt that this is where I should be.

For me Avenor College is a place where I discovered that a complete development of the youngest members of our community is really being cultivated. For me, theater means self-knowledge. It is my primary belief in pedagogy that only by knowing ourselves can we truly become fulfilled, both as individuals and as members of a group or society guided by values ​​such as tolerance and mutual understanding. This is why my lessons are always about self-discovery and the development of critical thinking that allows children not to question the ideas of others, a skill I consider vital, especially in today’s polarizing world.

Avenor College students challenge me every day to be a better teacher and a better person and I thank them for that.