Eastside interviews retiring teachers
Q: How long have you been working in the district?
A: In the Cherry Hill District, I was here 21 [years] then I left for two years, so 23.
Q: And how many years at East has it been?
A: It’s only been two. I was here for 21 and then I left to go to West Windsor for two to be a principal there, and then I came back when this opened up.
Q: What was it like transitioning from a teacher to administrator?
A: Busy, right? It was very interesting. With a teacher, you’re teaching, so your sole focus is teaching. But when you’re an administrator, your focus is students, students’ grades, students’ attendance. Then you have your departments, science and English. I have world language. So, you’re dealing with a variety of different people. Teachers, parents, kids, other administrators. I just think there’s way more moving parts as an administrator than a teacher. It keeps you busy on your toes, but definitely a lot of balls to juggle.
Q: What do you plan to do after your time at East?
A: Well, I hope, in my perfect world, I take off for August and September, and it’ll be my first September since I was four years old where I will not be returning to school … Soon I’m going to start looking, and I would like to work for a nonprofit, ACLU, Sandy Hook Promise, human rights campaign, something like that. Not that I’m not helpful here, right? But I feel like, in the world right now, that that’s a draw for me. My soul is like moving in that direction. I’ve been here for a long time. I mean, this is going to be like my 30th year. So if I work for another 15 years, I would like to do something else that is more helpful out in society.
Q: What sparked your interest in these nonprofits and getting involved in that work?
A: Well, I’ve always been interested. I’m actually a history major, and so some circumstances found me into the science classroom. I’m very interested in things like that. I’ve always had that tug. I think that recent events in the world and in our country have kind of spurred me on to a greater purpose. I just want to get more involved because we all sit there and we read social media and we watch TV, and we’re all like, wow, that’s terrible, or whatever your opinion is, but we all just keep watching, you know? And I would like to, instead of just watching, dive in to do something helpful.
Q: What are your best memories at East?
A: Well, I’ve only been an administrator for two years, but I was a girls basketball coach here. I came in 2000, and I think I left in 2014, so I was here for 14 years. So during that stint from 2000 to 2014, my best memories are just the players and turning the program around. We weren’t very good. In 2000, I think we won, I don’t know, four games our first year. Then in 2005, I think we won 26, and so we went to the South Jersey final. We won the conference. Building the girls basketball program is a huge memory for me, and the connections with the players and the families. Then when I came back to East, I’m in a unique position, because I had a lot of these kids in seventh grade. Not many people get a chance to teach students in seventh grade and then come back and be the person that sends them off when they graduate high school. It’s been fun to be back in and see them grow. Kids are going places, and so it’s nice to see that. Even though I was only here for two years, as an admin, I got the most bang for my buck. I think 30 years in education is a lot, and I’m ready to move on to hopefully other things that are just as fruitful.
Q: What lessons will you take away from your time in the district?
A: I think just how to deal with people. As a teacher, you’re constantly communicating with kids and families and parents. As an administrator, you’re still communicating with kids and families, but now I’m also communicating at a higher level with adults. So I’m in charge of two very big departments, and I think over time, when you’re a younger teacher, it’s harder, right? You’re nervous, you don’t know what to say. Now, I think I’m older, and I’ve done it so many times, and I realize that you have to help people put things in perspective. I think that it’s about the relationships, and trying to create relationships with people that are sometimes hard to create relationships with, and trying to make people feel included or heard or listened to. So I think over the years, as you get to be an older teacher, you get better at that, and then as an administrator you have to be good at that, because that’s basically all you’re doing. You’re constantly managing people, and I think that that’s probably my biggest growth and my biggest lesson. If you can manage people in a school, you can manage people anywhere because there’s 2000 kids, 200 staff members. We’ve got a ton of secretaries, we’ve got a ton of administrators. If you can manage those relationships in a school, I feel like you could do any job.
Q: What will you miss most about East?
A: The people, one hundred percent. When you’re getting ready to retire, well, you’re certainly not going to miss the work. You’re not going to miss the emails. You’re not going to miss doing schedules. You’re not going to miss any of that. But you’re gonna miss seeing your people every day. I have people here that I’ve known from middle school that I’m friends with – Ms. Wyckoff, Ms. Donaghy, McVeigh – we’ve all worked together at one point. When you’re getting ready to retire, part of your life is those people. We’re still gonna be friends, we’re still gonna be friendly. You’re not going to lose the people. You’re just going to lose the work. Isn’t that the best of both worlds? It’s just all about the relationships. So that’s what I’ll miss, like the daily Ms. Wyckoff coming in here every morning and complaining about something. Ms. Donaghy yelling from the third floor. It’s those things that my life is going to be much different without.
Q: What has changed throughout your time at East?
A: Oh, mostly the schedule, the schedule has changed a lot. When I first got here, we taught 8 periods a day, and now we have the rotating schedule.
Q: Has anything stayed the same?
A: Actually, the curriculum hasn’t changed a total whole lot. Math is math.
Q: Why did you choose to be a math teacher in particular?
A: I always wanted to be a math teacher, but my guidance counselor told me not to be a math teacher and to go into accounting instead. I didn’t like it after 3 years, so then I went back to be a math teacher. I love being with students. It was my always my goal to be a math teacher.
Q: Highlights of your time at East?
A: I enjoy being interactive with the students. I enjoy teaching AP Statistics and the honors level classes.
Q: What will you miss most?
A: Oh, of course, the students. I love being involved with students, letting them achieve, and building relationships with them.
Q: How long have you been teaching at East and what classes do you teach right now/have taught throughout your career?
A: I taught at West for 22 years, and then I’ve been at East for three years. I was a part of the forced transfer when the district swapped teachers. I teach business classes – Business Law, Financial Literacy, and Intro to Business.
Q: What activities have you advised/engaged in outside of teaching at East?
A: I’ve done DECA for 25 years, and since I’ve been here, I have Camden Connections and the Muslim Student Association.
Q: Why did you decide to get into teaching, like business, specifically in the first place?
A: I used to be an accountant and I worked a lot of hours. Once I had children, I thought, “This is not conducive to having kids.” So I actually took my transcripts to the nearest university and said, “What’s the quickest way you can get me in a classroom?” And they said, “Take classes in education. You can be a business teacher.” So that’s how it happened.
Q: Can you describe some of your favorite memories as a teacher/advisor?
A: I guess the most fun thing is just seeing kids succeed… It’s so exciting to watch. One time at West, we had a special ed student who got second place at [DECA]. And you know how [most kids] are afraid to be made fun of? He didn’t have any of that. He was on stage jumping up and down. They couldn’t even announce the first place person because he wouldn’t stop celebrating, and everyone in the club went crazy for him. Actually, everyone there went crazy. Seeing just pure joy is so much fun for me.
Q: What is your favorite thing about teaching?
A: I think the things that stick out in teaching class are the funny moments, you know – where I either embarrass myself, or some kid does something and we just connect on a human scale. I think that’s my favorite part.
Q: Describe your most memorable student.
A: I mean, you’re talking about 25 years and I teach only semester classes, so do the math. You know, that’s a lot. It’s like 300 times 25 but I will say that recently, because it’s my last Teacher Appreciation Week, a student who graduated in 2005 sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers to the school and I cried. I mean, it was just such a thoughtful thing to do. And it’s those connections that I enjoy the most… just seeing how their lives are turning out, you know? And I mean, sometimes they’ll come back after they’ve been through undergrad and grad school, and say, “Can you write me the letter to take the bar exam?” And I’m like, “Wow, with seven years of experience with other people?” But I’m obviously happy to do it, and I love staying connected that way.
Q: What are your plans after retirement?
A: Volunteer and travel… That’s pretty much it. I have two trips already scheduled, so the day school gets out, I’m flying to England to walk across England. And then, later in the summer, I’m going to Croatia Montenegro and Albania, and I’m going to do a sailing trip through the islands off the coast. I’m excited.
Q: What is your advice for future teachers?
A: For future teachers, I think that the tagline a lot of people have on their emails is true. People will not remember what you said. They will remember how you made them feel. So make people feel seen. That’s my advice to teachers – just make that connection.
Q: Any last messages for your students?
A: If I could go back to high school, I would do two things differently. One: I wouldn’t be so afraid of what everyone’s opinion is. And two, I’d take more chances. I’d join more clubs. I’d just try more different things, you know, and not be so afraid of failure or being made fun of. Take chances. Enjoy it. You know you’re only a kid once, so live it up.
Q: What inspired you to become a physics teacher?
A: It wasn’t so much an inspiration to be a physics teacher, it was to teach in general. I always loved working with teenagers, and I struggled with the decision to become a pharmacist or a teacher early on. I majored in biology second year, and by the end of my first year, transferred and became a pharmacist. I went to pharmacy school and worked in pharmacy for 10 years.
That sounds fun.
Yeah! And then, as much as I enjoyed that, I felt more of a calling to go back to education and work with young people again. I went back for an alternate route and became a teacher instead. Most of my years here, I taught chemistry. It’s only been about the past six to eight years that I focused on physics.
Q: How has East changed since when you first started working here and now?
A: So there’s a lot that’s similar. I mean, we still have, since I started 25 years ago, this great student population. The students are energetic. They’re fun to work with. They care about learning. They’re diverse. I love all that. Technology has changed, and mainly for the better, to some extent. Now, everything is on Google Classroom, as opposed to just on paper and pencils. Sometimes I feel like it might be overwhelming to students, though, because they never get that break from school.
Q: What advice would you give incoming physics students?
A: You know what I’m gonna say. Physics is every day. I would say, have an open mind. Don’t focus so much on coming up with answers, as much as just thinking through a problem and understanding concepts.
Q: What would you say your most memorable moments teaching have been?
A: The most memorable moments usually involve making some type of personal connection to students and getting to know them, understanding what motivates them, knowing what their interests are outside of school.