As sophomores, the next few years of our lives will be the years of planning as we have to decide on a good college and, hopefully, our career choice. So, we wanted to interview adults in our lives to understand how to go about that process. We decided to interview four teachers at the high school, Ms. Jones, Mrs.Scott, Mr. Herrick, and Ms.Huller-White. From these interviews, we also learned how they made their own big life decisions and how they continue to have fun in their careers.
S: Student
T: Teacher
MS. JONES
We chose to interview Ms. Jones first. Although Ms. Jones had a stable job, she knew that her work was not entertaining to her and chose to leave her current profession for teaching. Showing us that life should not always be focused on money and success in other’s eyes, but on personal enjoyment.
S: So why did you get into this profession?
T: I was working as a professional writer for Harold Media in Boston and I realized that I did not find my work to be, in any way, fulfilling and decided that I needed to make a change and find something that made me happier as a person. And I found my way into teaching. And thus it has been a decision where I’ve never looked back.
S: What’s your favorite teaching memory?
T: My favorite teaching memory… I, unfortunately, say that I have many favorite memories. I think that they sort of crystalize into moments where you see students who have been struggling and all of a sudden they get something and it’s such a great moment. Or, they come back and visit you and-
S: *laughs* Like my sister
T: Yeah, they come back and visit and they tell you how much what we’ve done has helped or something we did in class helped them figure something out. And I think those are the moments where you feel very validated and all of the effort and the long hours and the time was worth it because now this other person has this thing in their life that will make them happier and better and help them be successful in whatever it is they want to do. So, I don’t really have a moment, it’s just those little snapshots, those little flickers of success where it’s like, “yes!” and it keeps you rolling onward and upward.
S: Do you have a funniest teaching memory?
T: *mutters* Oh my god. Well, I have lots of kids do very funny things in class, some of them are not appropriate and should not be published. Or stuff you just pretend is very serious at the time, but on the inside you’re dying laughing, but you have to take it very seriously at that specific moment. I would say one of my favorite moments was when I had an AP class a few years ago and they all decided, at the end of the year, to dress up as symbols from our works of literature. They spent the entire class wearing these bizarro outfits, talking about literature, dressed up as various symbolic images from our work. That was a pretty fabulous moment. And it was entirely spontaneous! I did not create that. That was them thinking, “we should do this!” and then they all came in wearing symbols from our literature. It was pretty funny. That was a good moment.
S: You went to ———- High School, right?
T: I did.
S: Do you have a favorite memory from there? Or any interesting things that happened in your high school?
T: ———- High School… My high school was not the greatest high school that’s ever been created and I would say that our high school population was not particularly… I think the word is sophisticated. I know that part of this is because of the time, you know people in the late 90s, early 2000s were not as accepting of people if they’re not traditionally dating the “right” person or their gender was something different. I think that is societal. But I think also that ———- High was not a particularly cosmopolitan or diverse place. I think that really bothered me about my whole high school experience and I never really felt like I fit in, but I was very fortunate to have a really great group of friends, some of whom I’m still close with today. I mean, I married my high school boyfriend so, obviously, that worked out, but the gift that ———– High School gave me, interestingly, was that I had a lot of really bad teachers in my high school career. They were not particularly inspiring or compassionate. And I think that, interestingly, that is the thing that I hold on to and remember what never to be as a teacher. I never want to be my own AP English teacher. If i can get through my career not being like her, then I will feel successful.
S: Was there ever a moment where you learned from a student?
T: Oh my gosh, I learn from my students all the time! I think, if you don’t, then you’re in the wrong profession. I get student perspectives on works of literature that I read yearly and every year I’ll get a student that asks me a question or something that makes me stop and think why I believe what I believe. I have students that constantly amaze me with their art or their ability to do certain things or their use of language. I think all of those things are inspiring and I think that’s one of the best parts of teaching, every year you get a new crop of students and you have a new group of people to remind you of your own education and that there are times you should stop and let them teach you. I have students who are into all sorts of things. I don’t know anything about gaming and so many thing. I knew nothing about K-Pop! I now know a tiny bit about K-Pop, but that’s great, you should learn from your students. There are whole parts of the world that I know nothing about. I think it’s good for the relationship. It’s not like, “Well, I stand here from on high and tell you things and you will learn from me.” There’s a good give and take, I think that’s healthy in a relationship of any kind
S: And that’s all folks!
T: *clapping* Awesome!