Megan Smith is a second grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, where she has taught for eleven years. She also helps to teach with World Language Immersion Program: Spanish, English Partner Teacher, where she helps to teach her students ELA (reading, writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary), and a small Math Review. What made you decide to be a teacher? I decided to be a teacher in High School. I was a Cross-Age Tutor and went to Mrs. McMurtry’s First Grade class. She saw a potential in me that I didn’t realize I had. I was able to work with students individually and even teach the whole class at times. I knew then Elementary Education is where I need to be. What do you enjoy about being a teacher? I enjoy learning more about each of my students and helping them learn how to read. I love when the students get to their “ah-ha” moment. That moment when they put all the pieces together and can apply all they have learned. What are some challenges? I feel that a challenge I face as an educator is getting things done during school hours. I take many things home and work at night to make sure I get all the things done to help my students grow. What is an experience you have had as a teacher that stands out to you? I think an experience that stands out to me the most as a teacher is that point in the year when you have developed a safe environment for your students to feel comfortable enough to challenge you, laugh with you, and ultimately love being in your classroom. Why did you decide to teach at the school you are currently at? I decided to teach at Jefferson Elementary because of the great staff and principal. It is a positive and supportive working environment. What is something interesting about you most of your students don’t know? Many of my students don’t know that I was a struggling reader when I was in school. Math was and is my favorite subject. What are some things that are different in the education system now compared to when you first started teaching/when you were a student? I think the biggest change in the Education System is the idea of a Professional Learning Community (PLC). When I first started teaching, I felt like I was my own island teaching alongside other teachers. After a few years PLC’s became a priority in the education system. A PLC is a way that we (teachers) come together to discuss how the students in our grade are doing to meet the standards. Instead of teaching alongside each other we work closer together to meet the needs of all students in our grade.
