Mr. Cabrera returns for his second stint at Darien High School

Social Studies Teacher Brings Harvard Wisdom to Classroom

By Ben Hall- 10/10
More by Ben Hall

NEIRAD enilno edition

A new face roams the halls of Darien High School, but to most faculty members there’s nothing new about it. Dennis Cabrera, a Western Civ and World History teacher, is just beginning his second run here at DHS. He left in 2006 to take a job in Thailand where he had the experience of a lifetime teaching in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Cabrera began his teaching career at Greenwich High School as a teacher’s aid, and then moved on to his first job as a certified teacher at Darien High School. After a short term of teaching history here, he decided to take advantage of an opportunity to go overseas and teach history at an international school in Thailand.

Mr Cabrera taught at the Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok, the center and capital of Thailand. There, he taught a middle school history course to students from all around the world, but primarily from Asia. While in Thailand, he learned the Thai language, and gained experience working with many students of different ethnicities and backgrounds. “Teaching in a foreign country, especially one in Asia, helped my content knowledge of the world, and it lets me talk more familiarly about that part of the world when I teach my World History classes,” Mr Cabrera said.

Not known to many students here in Darien, Bangkok has become known as one of the world’s capitals of sex and prostitution. Since the Vietnam War, Thailand has become one of the most notorious countries for sex tourism and trafficking in underage girls. Prostitution in Thailand is illegal, although it is widely tolerated by local officials because many of them are involved in the business and therefore protect the practice. Many young girls are trafficked in Thailand every day and because of this, the nation is plagued by HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. When asked how this affected his daily life, Mr Cabrera shrugged it off, saying that although there are corrupt areas, Bangkok is “still a safe place to work and teach, and much like many cities in America, there are just areas you tend to avoid.”

While at Ruamrudee School, Cabrera taught a mandated class about values and discussed the problems around the city of Bangkok, explaining the dangers of the country and city in which they lived.  Although awareness about the dangers of prostitution and HIV/AIDS has been heightened, there is still much change needed for Bangkok to rebuild its image and change the way of life for children growing up in its communities.

After two years at Ruamrudee, Mr. Cabrera pursued a goal he had always thought about after beginning his teaching career, which was getting his graduate degree. He attended a two-year graduate program at Harvard University, one of the most prestigious schools in the Ivy League. There, he faced challenging classes such as math and science Mr. Cabrera admits he was never very good at those subjects in high school.

He graduated last May and moved on from Harvard with a superior education and many different professors to emulate. Mr. Cabrera hopes that he has become a better teacher because of his Harvard experience and because of the professors in which he studied under in Cambridge.

After graduating from the esteemed university, Mr Cabrera, for the most part, had his choice of schools to teach at, and out of all the schools in New England he picked Darien High School. “The kids here are great, and this is the best job I’ve ever had. This is my dream job,” Mr. Cabrera said.

To get even more personal with Mr. Cabrera, check out these fun facts from last month's Neirad Enilno.