Staff Spotlight: Peter Binskin Traveled the World to Land in Lynden
This post is part of the Lynden Schools Staff Spotlight series
Peter Binskin’s teaching role at Lynden Academy covers an eclectic mix of grades and subjects. It matches someone who has been a teacher for 35 years on three different continents. “People often laugh when I tell them about the range of grade levels I tech during the week,” he says, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Role
It wasn’t a direct route to Lynden for Binskin. Originally from Australia, he moved to Germany in 2000 to teach at the International School of Dusseldorf. It’s there he met his wife and after they married, they returned to her home of Whatcom County, where’s they have lived for 21 years.
Binskin has worked with Lynden Schools for the past 14 years and is in his 11th year at Lynden Academy, teaching everything from first grade to middle school. “The variety is what makes it feel new every day,” he says, “and the fact that we work closely with the families as partners gives it a family feel.”
Having a smaller staff helps the team work well together, especially since many of the staff Binskin works with have been there since he started. “Stay at the academy long enough and you get the joy of seeing some of your students go all the way through from kindergarten to graduation,” he says.
Getting to Know Peter
Outside of school, Binskin enjoys writing and recording children’s songs, many that he uses in his classrooms. His themes range from health to general academics to U.S. history, including one he used to help him get through the citizenship test 10 years ago. The students refer to him as a YouTuber.
“One of my favorite times of the year is when I get to perform my songs at the Raspberry Festival,” he says. “This year, as part of my set, I wrote and performed a song in honor of a special young lady at the academy who has, with the help of her mother and some pretty wonderful athletes from around the world, taken a rather strong interest in the sport of kayak racing.”
And that’s what being a teacher is all about, Binskin says. “We use our various gifts every day to be cheerleaders and encouragers to our students and, hopefully, at the end of the day,” he says, “we get to say we made a positive difference in the lives of our kids and our community.”
