Disclaimer: this is not an actual teacher here at the high school. This is inspired by several English teachers in the school.

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a teacher? Specifically a high school English teacher? How much work it takes to actually be a teacher? Well, I am sure I can answer those questions, you know since I am an English teacher and have been for about twelve years. Being a teacher is a difficult job for sure and it takes a lot of work to become one. I happened to be in school for about half my life. You are probably wondering what I mean by half my life; well if you count kindergarten through twelfth and then another six years to get my degree to become an English teacher then that is a total of nineteen years. I know what you’re thinking, why count kindergarten through twelfth? Well, I did go to school those thirteen years, so when being asked how many years I went to school to become a teacher, of course I am going to include them with the six years I attended college. Anyway I teach AP Lit, English 11H and Creative Writing. If you couldn’t tell already, I enjoy teaching English. I didn’t really enjoy English class in school before college, but I did happen to excel in it. I knew at a young age that I wanted to teach because most of my family members were teachers, so I guess you could say that teaching is in my blood.

I decided I would describe a typical day as an English teacher, so you have an idea of why I appreciate teaching high school students. I started my day off pretty early in the morning, 4:15 to be exact. I woke up this early because I needed some time to myself and I had to get ready for my day. I was ready and out the door by 6:30. It took me awhile to get to school for obvious reasons: traffic was horrible and, well, I do live quite far from the school, so it is a longer drive than most teachers. I teach five out of nine periods in a day. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you are teaching three somewhat different classes it can be overwhelming occasionally, sometimes even frustrating, but it doesn’t matter. I still enjoy teaching my students. In my free time during the school day I am usually grading papers, planning for the next day, or calling parents (I may have a student or two who are not passing my class or are missing assignments). However, most of my students are pretty good so I rarely have problems with them. Anyway back to today. I’m teaching English 11H first and seventh, AP Lit fifth and ninth, and Creative Writing third. In English 11H I am giving my students a quiz on To Kill a Mockingbird; then if there’s time I will have my students read. In AP Lit my students are writing an essay about literary devices in poetry, and in Creative Writing they are working on a short story,

The benefits of teaching high school students is how we can talk on an elevated level and engage in conversation you’d normally not have in junior high or elementary school. I enjoy the authentic classroom discussion that often results from teaching literature. The challenging aspect of teaching English? Finding time for my students, planning, and grading essays, while still trying to fit in some time for myself! However, this is what I love to do, so it’s all worth it.