Faculty of the Week: Mika Court

By ANVI BHATE, LAUREN KIM, SOPHIE MA

Around the room, students gather in clusters at blackboards with surrealist French statements scratched on them, adding their own interpretations as they pass by each board. As the lesson progresses, they move back to the round Harkness table to engage in fervent discussion about the surrealist movement, oppressive colonial and imperial societies, and responses to the trauma of world war. Although a bit of an unconventional scene for a French classroom, this is certainly not unusual for Mx. Mika Court, who enjoys a holistic teaching approach in every subject that they engage in.

“I find these projects a way to have fun while learning grammar, vocabulary, as well as some models of creative collaborative social and artistic movements from the past,” Mika Court said.

Having wanted to teach since they were a kid, Court taught their first ever class at a local English high school as a part of a senior class at Amherst College. Throughout their life, Court has moved states and taught in a multitude of places, but being at a boarding school like Exeter was personal for them.

”I went to a boarding school where I studied French, and then that school brought me back to teach French,” Court said. “Boarding schools: there’s something special about them. I love the stimulating curriculum.”

“I’ve always enjoyed teaching this age group,” Court continued. “You are the next generation and on fire. I’ve gotten older though, so it’s always different, always very interesting. So, I was pleased when the opportunity arose [to come to Exeter].”

A multidisciplinary wonder amongst the arts, Court has also taught a variety of humanities and social science subjects. Last year they taught U.S. History at the Academy, although so far this year they are focusing on French. “I’ve never been able to decide between literature, social sciences and art. So, I think I’ve always been interdisciplinary,” Court explained.

Court certainly has the degrees to match. They completed their undergraduate studies at Amherst College, receiving a degree in anthropology and French literature, and also went abroad to Paris-Sorbonne University during their junior undergraduate year. After Court’s time at Amherst, they went abroad once more, and participated in a one-year certificate program for international students in Political Science and Economics at L’institut d’Études Politiques, Paris.

“Also known as ‘Sciences Po,’” Court said.

The next part of Court’s educational journey continued in California, where they received multiple master’s degrees. “When I decided to apply to [graduate] programs, I couldn’t decide if I should do literature or [something else], so I decided to do cultural anthropology because it’s very holistic,” Court said. “I studied that in [University of California] Santa Cruz.”

“Then I studied English literature [at San Francisco State University],” Court continued. “I also took summer classes towards a masters in French at New York University in Paris when I was teaching and being a dorm parent at St Andrew’s School.”

A self-proclaimed life-long student, Court has been learning all their life. “The last degree I got was in 2018,” they said.

When asked about why they enjoyed teaching French, Court explained their special affinity with the language. “I grew up in rural Maryland. My mother was Greek, and she was a French teacher.”

Court was also drawn to the language because of its radical nature. “At the same time, French literature was existentialism,” Court said. “It was a critique of colonialism and imperialism, and it was about revolution.”

“My mother left Greece because there was a military coup. So, I grew up with leftists who spoke French. There was a big intersection between existentialism and black power and civil rights movements,” Court continued. “It was a different world in the French classroom.”

Court also introduced someone who had a big influence on her becoming a French teacher. “My high school French teacher was from Lebanon, and she was so cool,” Court said. “She was glamorous and smart, and I ended up sort of becoming a part of their family for a little while. I traveled to Egypt with them, and they spoke French in their household.”

“I love teaching and being able to learn a language and thinking outside of our own culture. French was my way of doing that. Some of the most important postcolonial writing is in French,” Court concluded.

After collaborating together within the Modern Language Department, French Instructor Katherine Fair described Court to be “an enterprising, thoughtful colleague who brings considerable expertise and imagination to her teaching. She contributes readily and helpfully in departmental discussions, where their energy and sense of humor are always in evidence. I very much enjoy working with her,” Fair said.

Likewise, Court finds their favorite aspect of the Modern Language Department to be their fellow colleagues. “So far, I’m very, very happy. I love being in the language department. I have wonderful conversations with my colleagues every day,” Court said. “I had lunch with some of my friends: a mathematician from Senegal, a teacher from Colombia, and another teacher from the northern part of Spain. It’s a really great department. How can I complain?”

Along with French, some of Court’s passions include advocating for social justice. Crediting this interest to being raised by an educator and social worker, Court said: “Since I was young, I was very interested in justice, race, class and gender, which were all deeply part of my experience growing up.”

Court also recounted enlightening experiences with protests around social issues. “When I lived in France, there was literally a strike or a protest every day. I was so excited by it and learned so much from it. I realized that I was learning more history out in the street than I was in my classes.”

“When I studied anthropology, I went to a program around culture and power run by lesbian women. There were so many intersecting elements of power, society, gender [in that program],” Court continued. “I realized that the more I learned, [the more I] worked with people and spoke with people, the more we learned together on these issues.”

Court connected these experiences with their mindset as an educator. “Teaching for me is very much all about empowering a pedagogy of the empowered rather than the pedagogy of the oppressed,” Court said. “I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to figure out how to get people to listen and not shut down, and to learn and not get shut down.”

Court also explained how modern issues can be interwoven into class. “I like to open as many doors as possible for students to become aware,” Court continued. “Because what are we learning for? What world are you going to be prepared for, and what skills do you need for that?”

“For example, last year I brought the news into every week of my history class. In French, I’m doing similar stuff as well,” Court said. “I want students to learn about the diversity of the francophone world with a real awareness of how anti-blackness has permeated [the space], because a lot of the francophone world is in Africa and the Caribbean.”

Empowering people of all ages to do grand things is something Court strongly believes in. “I taught at an all-girls middle school [in San Francisco],” they recounted. “It was called the Julia Morgan School for Girls…and [the] school had been an orphanage for the children of sex workers in [nearby] Chinatown. They would do tributes to the girls who have been there before. The graduating class — 13 year olds, all girls — would run the whole ceremony.

“It was the most moving thing,” Court continued. “I’ve taught at all ages, and I think we can do really high-level work at all levels. People I taught with used to say, ‘These students aren’t ready for this.’ They completely were. And my colleagues said, ‘You helped us realize how much we can do. We don’t have to dumb things down.’”

Whether it be inside or outside the classroom, Court’s unique ideas and speaking points have left lasting impacts on students as well. “They’re a very good teacher in the sense that I like it when teachers also participate in the Harkness discussion from time to time,” senior Enzo Nakornsri said. “They did a really good job at that, and they made the discussion flow well…Just having someone there to facilitate the conversation is really nice.”

When they’re not teaching, Court enjoys painting—every wall in their house is painted in bright, creative strokes. Court is also a mother, and described motherhood to be a hobby as well. “I have two teenagers, so part of my hobby is being a mother,” Court said. “My oldest is a senior, and my youngest is a sophomore. [In my free time,] I like to paint and draw and listen to music and take care of my kids and dream a lot.”

Court also described their music taste to be diverse. “I have a very eclectic [and] wide range of music. Everything from 80’s pop to Algerian music that’s a fusion of French and Arabic pop to salsa to anything. I listen to a lot of different things,” Court said.

“I also listen to French hip-hop — which I do teach [in class] — because this one hip hop artist can sing an entire novel in one line,” Court continued. “The brilliance of the lyricism [is insane]. There’s some real literature happening here.”

This year, Court will transition from instructing part-time at Great Bay Community College to working full-time for the Academy.

“This year, I made the commitment to work full-time through French. I’m no longer teaching at the college because I wanted to be able to focus [on the Academy], enjoy it, and not be stressed,” Court said. “Part of our job is just showing what it is to be an adult. We need to find balance and I love that I’m here full time now.”

In the future, Court said that they could envision teaching English, anthropology, religion, or continue with French at the Academy. Despite their impressive and varied talents, however, Court remains humble. “I feel like to be truly interdisciplinary, I would have to be a scientist,” Court said. “I’m a generalist. There are people who are mastering [subjects] on a completely different level than I am. But I’m a high school teacher,” they concluded light-heartedly.