A freshman teacher reflects on her first year
One school year.
Two semesters.
One hundred and eighty days.
However that block of time since last August was divvied up and
labeled, for San Benito High School English teacher Melissa
McGrath, it was a milestone. Her first year in the classroom was
over. And, after completing lesson plans that contained a little
bit of education theory learned in college and a whole lot of trial
and error, she can happily say that now she has some experience
behind her.
A freshman teacher reflects on her first year
One school year.
Two semesters.
One hundred and eighty days.
However that block of time since last August was divvied up and labeled, for San Benito High School English teacher Melissa McGrath, it was a milestone. Her first year in the classroom was over. And, after completing lesson plans that contained a little bit of education theory learned in college and a whole lot of trial and error, she can happily say that now she has some experience behind her.
“I’m proud of what I’ve done and what my students have done,” said McGrath in the library during the year’s final weeks, as one of her classes worked independently nearby.
Reflecting back on the year as an English 11 and English language development teacher, she proclaimed her satisfaction with a job well done, although she admitted the year was not a perfect one. She said she watched many students grow tremendously during the year, but she also saw some slip from academic achievement regardless of her unrelenting efforts as an educator.
For McGrath, the toughest point in the year actually occurred before she had even met any of her new students. Just a few days before the start of the year, unable to handle the stress of mounting obligations and dwindling time, McGrath hid herself in the corner of her classroom and completely broke down.
“I sat in my pink chair and sobbed,” she recalled with a raw honesty. “I called my mom and we talked for a long time.”
But, after hitting rock bottom, there was only one way to go.
“I feel so strong compared to that. I don’t think I’ll ever feel that way again,” she said. Her willingness to even share such a vulnerable moment further confirmed the strength she garnered during the year.
As McGrath hurried around campus last week completing San Benito High School’s checkout procedure, it seemed only fitting that she put closure to the year in a similar hectic fashion as how it began.
McGrath rolled her classroom’s large video monitor to a central location in the English department, doing the same with the overhead projector. After turning in a couple of leftover textbooks, she moved quickly from office to office, as if on a scavenger hunt, tracking down the necessary signatures of administrators before being able to part with campus for the summer. Not surprising to anyone who knows her, McGrath took it all in stride and kept a smile on her face even though piles of final exams in need of grades waited for her in her classroom.
Throughout the year, there might have been various logistical issues to contend with, but nothing seemed to pull her attention away from her students. Her love of teaching seemed to be communicated to her classes in the form of compassion, creativity and friendliness.
“She’s really good at explaining things, she really takes the time,” said Karina Martinez, who said she enjoyed attending McGrath’s class. Martinez felt that, in terms of discipline however, she and her classmates might have reaped the benefits of having a new teacher at the front of the classroom.
“I’m pretty sure by next year she’s going to be more strict,” said Martinez thoughtfully.
Most of the time, it was hard to tell that McGrath was a new teacher. Her confidence in front of the class combined with strong organizational skills behind the scenes did not easily reveal her novice status. However, Cameron Griffith, one of her English 11 students, noticed a few things that spoke to the contrary.
“In the beginning of the year, she was trying things that she doesn’t do anymore,” he said. “She was kind of experimenting, getting used to teaching,” he concluded.
McGrath admitted that during the year, some of her classroom management techniques and methods did change as she realized what worked and what didn’t.
“A lot of that you can’t really figure out until you test it,” she said.
Several of her students felt that their class would always hold a special place among the collection of memories McGrath would gather throughout her career.
“We’re always going to be her favorite class,” said Martinez.
“I think she’ll remember us for a very long time,” said Craig Lanning.
For Mark Baladad, McGrath’s general cheerfulness made him enjoy coming to class during the year.
“Some teachers, if they’re here for a long time, they don’t bother to smile as much,” he said, comparing McGrath with some of his other teachers at San Benito High School.
However, Kyle Mercier felt that McGrath’s sunny personality wouldn’t succumb to the same fate.
“I think she’ll be the same throughout her career,” he said.
McGrath’s students said that they enjoyed how she often incorporated a lot of creativity into the curriculum, asking students to complete hands-on projects and perform skits as a way to help solidify key concepts covered.
Even before the year ended, McGrath’s creative mind was thinking about next year.
“I’ve got this running list in my head of new things I want to try,” she said eagerly. “I am planning to use this summer to sit down and organize it,” but definitely not before some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Even though she said she’s not as burned out as she expected she would be, she is looking forward to a few weeks of visiting with family and friends.
As she thinks about next year, McGrath said she also plans to make herself available during the New Teacher Academy. With the stressful memories of getting her classroom ready still fresh in her mind, she hopes to lend a hand to next year’s new crop of teachers.
One hundred eighty days have passed; 180 days of planning, lecturing, discussing, grading and encouraging, some of those days much better than others. Her time with her first group of students, the young men and women she had come to know quite well, was over, made official when Jose Amaya handed in the last final exam. But before leaving the room, this English Language Development student who had made enormous improvements during the year, gave McGrath a precious gift in the form of a few genuine words.
“Thank you for teaching me,” he said with a shy smile.
Read “Greeting school from a new place” (part 1 of 3)
Read “Reflections from in front of the classroom” (part 2 of 3
