Awa Diop
Awa Diop is a French teacher at the New York French American Charter School.
She is from Senegal, where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Ecole Normale des Jeunes Filles Germaine Le Goff. She attained her Masters in Education from Touro College. With over 25 years of experience, she is certified to teach in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education and Special Education.
With a true passion for providing student-centered learning in a healthy environment, she loves teaching her students in an enriching and fun way with the use of arts and crafts. Diop takes pride in teaching her students to love learning. Diop shares, “Teaching is challenging work but the rewards of providing academic support and personal guidance to a student to ensure growth is like no other. I am continuously honored to accept the challenge of effective teaching!”
Curriculum
Diop’s curriculum development project focuses on the meaning of masks and their cultural value in Benin. She will incorporate the masks of Benin into her Black History Month unit. Diop believes that Black culture is rich, and that Black History Month should be a time to not just explore Black leaders, but also to bring to light Black culture and traditions.
She plans to teach her students about this part of Benin’s culture through the use of arts and craft. First, she will prepare and host a gallery walk, which is a beautiful way for students to see and soak up information through imagery. She then will prompt her students to create their own masks inspired by the traditional masks seen in Benin. Students will work with papier-mâché, paint and other tools to bring their creative visions to life.