Interview with a Teacher

I met Lauren when the universe put us together as roommates in college. Since those days, our friendship has grown and so have our lives and careers. I wanted to interview Lauren because I have SO many friends who are teachers and thought that it would be cool if I made a relatable post for them. So now, enjoy a post on the perspective of a high school teacher:

1) How did you know you wanted to be a teacher?

I grew up around people involved in schools. My dad was a teacher, my mom was a physical therapist within the school district. A lot of my parents’ friends were teachers, so I grew up knowing and understanding (vaguely) how a school system worked. And looking back, while other kids were playing house or doctor, I was playing school. I would set up my stuffed animals at desks I made out of piles of books or tissue boxes and I would teach them lessons and I would complete their assignments for them. (God, I was a lonely child.)

When I was a senior in high school, that’s when I definitely decided that I was going into theatre education. I’d debated for a while about just doing a straight theatre performance degree, but I recognized that there wouldn’t be much of a job market for that. The education aspect would give me a little more of a pool and would still let me interact with theatre.

2) What grades and classes do you teach?

Junior English, Senior English, Creative Writing, Speech, and Drama. A majority of my students are juniors and seniors, but the ‘other’ classes are open to any grade level. 

3) Was it difficult going straight from college to teaching?

I’m not sure if ‘difficult’ is the right term. ‘Whirlwind’, certainly.

Basically, my story is this: I graduated college in May of 2015. I went home, I applied to a few schools that I went to in my town, had one interview that was kind of disastrous, and planned to spend my first year out of school as a sub. Then, early in June, I woke up to a voicemail from one of my high school principals, asking me if I’d be interested in applying to a new school district that was opening in August. I called him back, found out they would basically tailor my classes to suit my interests and abilities, and agreed to submit my information (keep in mind, I had NOT previously applied for this school-- they were literally coming after ME). A few days later, I interviewed with the principal of the new high school (who was a teacher of mine from my days in high school). He was very positive and welcoming, but it was a weird adjustment to go from ‘teacher/student’ to ‘boss/colleague’. A few hours after my interview, he called me back and said they wanted to hire me.

There are plenty of teachers who get hired once they leave college. But the fact that my major was so unheard of and the fact that the school district was opening the year I graduated and the fact that the two people in charge were people I knew from when I was in school…. I’m not sure I believe in God, but some cosmic force was certainly working in my favor.

After getting hired, I immediately began to freak out. I literally had no idea what to do-- sure, I’d spent 10 weeks student teaching all of the subjects they wanted me to teach, but HOW THE HELL DO I DO IT ON MY OWN?

Teaching is a learning process, especially within a new district that’s still trying to figure out where they’re going. So while I was a little unsure of myself, I took comfort in the idea that the rest of the teachers, even though they were veterans, were going through an adjustment period. And a few of the teachers were really welcoming and helped me out tremendously during my first few weeks (actually, they still help me out), so it made it a little easier to get along.

4) You're fairly young on the teacher scale. Do students ever see you as a friend instead of a teacher?

Ha, probably.

When I started, there were only 5 years separating me from half of my students (and I heard from a few that when they walked in, they thought I was a new student…). I wasn’t really sure how to assert myself as the adult, but the students took everything in stride and treated me with respect. I got to truly know and love some of my students. In certain classes, I could joke around with them and enjoy what was happening, but they would still listen to me when I said, ‘okay, time to settle down and get this done’. That, I think, is one of my best accomplishments.

I have a few students (mostly those involved in the drama club) that tell me they’re going to become my best friends when they graduate. For the most part, I don’t mind-- so long as they wait until they graduate to try and initiate a friendship. I have a self-rule that I won’t accept any social media requests from students-- once they graduate, sure, I’ll accept friend requests (if I liked having them in class). But until then, it’s a no-go.

And then, of course, there’s the awkward student who has a crush on me. He definitely tries to get away with calling me ‘Lauren’ in class and tries to smooth-talk his way out of assignments (and he asked me to prom in the middle of class-- I wish I was kidding). I cannot wait for him to graduate (if he does-- I’m still missing assignments from him) and be done with him, but since I live in a small town, I fear that he’s just going to appear at my house in the summer.

(On the other hand, I had a girl tell me the other day, “I was so scared to talk to you when I first saw you. Like, terrified”. So… there’s that.)

5) You have a lot of loves: Theatre, Disney, Neil Patrick Harris, ect. Do you ever incorporate things you like into your classes?

Obviously I can incorporate a lot of my favorite plays and musicals into my drama class. But I can fit a lot of other stuff in my other classes as well.

For example: every powerpoint I show in my speech class, there’s a picture of Neil Patrick Harris somewhere in it. I’m not sure if my students caught on to that, but it made me enjoy it a little more. I also have a poster of NPH in my classroom. Some days, I look at him and just pray he gives me strength to get through whatever stupidity is happening around me.

I like making references to things I like during class and if they’re more modern references, most of the time my students understand them. I’ve made Deadpool references in class, saying (school-appropriate) quotes that applied to whatever was happening, and one of my students was just like, “Holy crap! That’s awesome!” Since then, I’ve noticed him being more engaged in class, so that’s definitely a benefit.

I’ve also recently started purchasing Disney outfits to wear to work. They can, surprisingly, make some of my days easier.

6) I know you're required to teach certain things, but is there something that you hate teaching?

RESEARCH PAPERS.

Dear God, kill me. I hate them with a firey passion. The teaching part isn’t too bad-- after all, a majority of the unit is spent with the students writing the papers, so I really don’t have too much to do. But the grading kills me. Junior papers are 6-8 pages, Senior papers are 8-10. Granted, some kids sluff off and don’t attempt to meet the page requirement, so that makes it a little easier. But sometimes the writing is just so horrible and they don’t follow directions and there’s no citations… it makes me want to scream and cry and tear my hair out and throw my computer out the window.

7) If you were to find $2,045, what would you do with it?

Depends-- do I get to spend it on myself, or do I have to use it for school?

If it’s for school, I would buy so much stage makeup-- literally every color of creme makeup that Ben Nye sells. I’d also buy some class sets of plays for them to read, because I’m tired of reading Oedipus Rex and Much Ado About Nothing.

If it’s for me, I’d spend it on a trip to Disney for Halloween. It’s one of my dreams to go there during that time, because Halloween is awesome (duh). That’s the only time they bring out the face characters for Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. They also bring out more villains at that time, and Flynn Rider comes out more around that time (#MeetUpGoals). And Disney has new-ish parade for Halloween that brings out all those characters plus the ghosts from the Haunted Mansion and I just NEED to be there. Plus, I could wear my own Sally dress and not be judged too much.

-----------

I want to thank Lauren for taking time out of her day to give me this interview. And I also want to thank all the teachers for being a staple in people's lives because without teachers, we wouldn't be where we are today.