American teacher says Latvia made him feel more American

Joseph Jack Horgan, a teacher from Maine who has lived in Latvia for more than a decade, says he feels “a little more American than before,” LSM reported. He teaches several subjects at Jelgava Spidola State Gymnasium, makes the English-language podcast Latvia Weekly and is pursuing a doctorate.

Horgan first came to Latvia in 2013 as a Fulbright fellow, in a US programme that sends recent university graduates abroad for research or to help teach English. He expected to stay for one year, working at Jelgava Spidola Gymnasium and the Latvia University of Agriculture, now called the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies.

He said he enjoyed Latvia and met many people he liked, including his wife. After completing a history teacher training programme in the United States, he considered staying longer. He said the contrast between the shortage of teachers in Latvia and the large number of education graduates in the United States also influenced his decision.

Horgan now teaches English, social sciences, social studies and media literacy to students in grades 7 to 12 at the Jelgava school. It also has an International Baccalaureate programme, where he teaches social sciences in English. His lessons cover topics including Latvia’s constitution, human rights and the country’s electoral system. In Latvian, he teaches media literacy and how to create a media project.