To some, teachers are just people who explain lessons and assign homework. But really, every teacher has their own original story to pursuing their career. Most of the time students, especially online, rarely get to know who their teachers really are. Our math teacher, Ms. Grant was like this too, until— now. Her whole story of becoming an educator is uncovered in this interview. Read this article to find out what Ms. Grant is actually like behind the computer screen.

Victoria:

Hello Ms. Grant! Today, me and Iolanta would like to interview you for our new project for the school website.

Iolanta:

We're going to be interviewing teachers and you have the honor to be our first.

Ms. Grant:

Okay, sounds good! I hope I can give you guys some good answers.

Iolanta:

To start off, a lot of educators are usually inspired to pursue their careers when they're still children, often influenced by their own teachers. We'd like to know what inspired you to become a teacher, and when did you decide to follow that career path?

Ms. Grant:

Yes, you're right a lot of teachers are inspired when they're children. My best friend is a second grade teacher, so she likes working with little kids. She knew from the time she was in kindergarten that she wanted to be a teacher. I wasn't the same as her. I didn't realize it until I was in high school. I had this amazing math teacher, and I was lucky enough to have him for Algebra 1 in ninth grade and then again as a junior for Algebra 2. He just made math so easy. And funny thing, math was something I struggled with in elementary and middle school. But when I had him in ninth grade, he just made everything that I'd learned previously and all the new concepts in Algebra 1, click. After having him in ninth grade, I realized that I want to be this inspirational too.

Victoria:

I guess we can draw from that, that you went to a public school. How do you think teaching at a public school differs from an online school?

Ms. Grant:

Right. Well, you know, back when I was in school, we didn't have the option to learn online, and I see a lot of benefits in both ways. I've taught in physical schools, but I really like online because it's great for students to be able to go back and revisit lessons, work at their own pace, and come to me individually. They don't feel embarrassed in a class full of 35 other students to ask a question, so it can be very individualized. I also have students that travel for sports or other types of activities, or that need to work a lot, especially in high school. I've taught online now since... oh my goodness, 2010! I think most teachers have been working online at least since COVID when digital school really exploded. So, as I have been here for a very long time, I am definitely an advocate for online.

Victoria:

So how does your day as an online teacher look like?

Ms. Grant:

Well, the first thing I do after logging in is, I check my teams. I check to see if I have any messages that I need to attend to, or respond to with students. I look at my calendar to see what appointments I have, whether they're help sessions or monthly check-ins. I receive a lot of messages daily, especially after the weekend. So, a Monday is huge because I usually have the most amount of messages that day. I check my calendar for that day and then for the week to see what's coming up. It's always changing and there's things added to it throughout the week. When you move over from Imagine Edgenuity to Accelerate, you'll see there's a lot more that the teachers have to grade. Sometimes a student will just have a question about a specific topic, let's say a question on an assignment in a certain lesson. They might say, okay, I don't understand why I got this one wrong. I'll ask them for the name of the lesson, the activity, the question number and I'll look at it and I can send them a quick explanation. Otherwise we can just meet for a help session and a lot of times they need to be scheduled ahead of time, but sometimes students really need help right away. So I'll work with them and fit them into my schedule that day and try to accommodate them.

Iolanta:

We read on the official website under the meet the teacher section, that you also worked with younger students in the past. What was it like?

Ms. Grant:

Yes, I worked in the past in a private school, and I taught every subject in fifth grade. That is probably the youngest I ever taught, but now I teach every math course imaginable from sixth through twelfth grade, so middle and high school. I have three certifications, elementary grades one through six, special education, specific learning disabilities, K through twelve. For math, I have a certification for grades six through twelve.

Victoria:

Wow, you have quite a lot of certifications! We are interested in your experience working with older students, or perhaps high schoolers and younger students. How did they differ?

Ms. Grant:

Well, I taught fifth grade for two years before I moved up to middle school. I've always wanted to teach more of middle and high school. The older students get, the more independent they get, and the more varied they are. Different activities, sports, jobs. It's also fun to see what their future plans are for after high school, whether they plan on going to college, trade school, or go right into the workforce.

Iolanta:

I take it that you're very passionate about teaching and that you can't imagine your life without it. If you had to choose another job and you couldn't choose teaching, what would you pick?

Ms. Grant:

I knew I have always wanted to be a teacher, but I feel like a nurse is a good option too. I have always wanted to work with children, but I never wanted to make them cry because often little kids get scared at the doctors. But of course everything nurses do is always for the benefit of their patients.

Iolanta:

That's great! We are interested in knowing about a few fun facts about yourself, your hobbies, and what you like to do in your free time.

Ms. Grant

I grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Then I came down to Florida for college and I graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa in 1997. Now I live in Orlando. One of my favorite things is going to the beach. I like to go on beach vacations. I've never been to Europe and I want to go there. My dream vacation would be to go to Italy and Spain. I would love to go to Italy and then take a cruise from there to Spain. I'm actually Italian, but I've never been to Italy. I also enjoy exercising. I have two children, a daughter who's 19, she is in college, and a son who's 18. He is a senior in high school. I also like to cook. I try to find healthy alternatives to regular recipes especially around the holidays.

Victoria:

That's an interesting fact, not everybody who likes cooking likes to cook healthy things. To finish up for today, through our article, we have the opportunity to address the kids at our school. What is some important life advice for students to hear?

Ms. Grant:

It's important to never be hesitant to reach out for help. Whether it's with me or any of your other teachers, that's what we're all here for. Keep up the great work. You guys have been doing such an amazing job. Work hard towards your goals. That way your dreams can come true and anything's possible.

Victoria:

Those words are very motivating! Thank you so much!

Iolanta:

Thank you for taking the time for our interview, your answers were excellent!

Ms. Grant:

Thank you, girls, for having me. I had a really fun time. Good luck with further projects!

Every teacher has their own special story, and Ms. Grant is no different. Now that we know more about her and that she actually used to have trouble with math back in her time, we found out that she was inspired to pursue her career by her own teacher in high school. We also discovered that Ms. Grant advocates for online learning because it allows students to work more easily and because she values helping each student individually. This shows us how dedicated Ms. Grant is to her job, not just on the screen but also behind it.