Here are the questions and answers we asked one of our lovely teachers at Pinacate Middle School!
Q) How long have you been working at Pinacate?
A) I am finishing up my 9th year at Pinacate!! That was fast!
Q) How is it being a teacher?
A) Being a teacher is never boring! I enjoy my job and am thankful to work with students ( on most days ;))
Q) Do you get breaks?
A) Yes!! I have 4th period Prep for ASB (to complete paperwork for field trips etc) and 7th period Prep is my ELA 7 prep. I grade, email parents, etc. during this time. I have learned to leave work at work (I do not check my work emails at home). It makes me stay more focused so I have more time with my family. The long breaks over Christmas and Summer are AMAZING!
Q) How is it being an ASB teacher?
A) I have LOVED teaching ASB and it was so much fun while it lasted! I will definitely miss the class, kids and prep next year! :)
Q) How do you manage doing ASB and regular classes?
A) It was a struggle this year. I was teaching ALL new curriculum all year so a lot of my attention went to that. I feel like I did not plan as many things for ASB as I would have liked.
Q) Are you planning to continue doing ASB next year?
A) Unfortunately, no. My family situation is different for next year and I cannot commit to staying after school regularly. My daughter will be starting TK full days and needs me to pick her up right after work.
Q ) If you can change anything about Pinacate what would it be?
A) The negativity. We have great kids, great teachers and most of us enjoy working with our students. Too many people have a negative view of our school based on one incident and people believe the hype. There is no such thing as a perfect school with perfect kids.
Q) What inspired you to be a teacher?
A) Probably my 5th grade Teacher, Ms Obr. She was the first person (besides my parents) that believed in me and praised me for my writing ability and believed I could one day go to college. She and I still catch up once a year! (She is retired now but is as feisty and funny as always).
Q)I f you had the opportunity to be a teacher again at Pinacate would you still wanna work here,why or why not?
A) I would definitely still want to be a teacher here because Pinacate is a great school. As a student; If you are showing up daily, actually trying to put in effort, our teachers work really hard to get rigorous curriculum taught to our kids. We don't dumb things down- we want you to have a productive struggle to help you learn more.
Q) What are your 3 words of encouragement you would like to tell kids that are on their way to high school?
A) Show up Daily, Do the Work, Be Proud Of Your Results. ( I know it's more than 3 words). I really hope my 8th graders remember how ready they are for high school. If you show up, put in your effort, you will be really happy with how well high school will go.