Teacher Feature: Ms. Prerna Bidalia

By Annalisa Driver & Ben Lo "The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery," a phrase by Mark Van Doren that perfectly captures the quiet, steady presence of Ms. Bidalia, the newest English Language and Literature teacher at KAS.

Her journey to our school was not a traditional one, but rather an eccentric path that began on Reddit, followed by conversations with Ms. Clark, and the calm assurance of Mr. Laney, who convinced her that on this island she had never seen, she would find not only a school, but a community.

Originally from a Hindu household where Hindi was her first language, Ms. Bidalia credits her parents' progressive outlook for her unwavering belief in the kindness of people. She arrived in Taiwan without knowing a word of Mandarin, armed only with this simple, radical conviction.

It's a trust she brings into her classroom, where literature is transformed from a subject into a mirror—an endless exercise in helping students discover who they are through the words of others.

A lifelong bibliophile, Ms. Bidalia's literary tastes range from the intricate turns of Agatha Christie's mysteries to thrillers and legal dramas, though she admits Shakespeare has never quite found a place in her heart.

During the pandemic, she explored her curiosity by starting a YouTube channel, a way to speak outward when the world had folded inward.

Her advice to students is both modest and disciplined: start small, read what you enjoy, take it one step at a time, set realistic daily goals, and remember that progress is a private matter. She believes learning is not an act of performance, but one of self-discovery, a quiet journey best measured by one's own persistence.

In welcoming Ms. Bidalia, KAS gains more than a teacher of language and literature. The school gains a guide whose passion is not to fill minds with answers but to lead students, patiently, toward the art of discovering what was within them all along.

Image courtesy of Ms. Bidalia