Timpview's official news site

The Thunderbolt

Timpview's official news site

The Thunderbolt

Timpview's official news site

The Thunderbolt

New year, new teachers

New+year%2C+new+teachers

It’s a new school year. You begin to make your way into the same old school. Same classrooms, same students, and a shocking amount of new teachers.

 

As Timpview High School faces another year of pandemic school head-on, our plethora of new teachers has expanded.  At least 17 new teachers stepped up to the plate, determined to make an impact here in the midst of all the chaos of covid and construction.. 

 

 In the past three years, Timpview has lost up to 30 teachers. These positions have been quickly filled, creating a refreshed atmosphere of Thunderbird-esque school spirit. 

 

One of our new teachers is Ms. Montgomery. She teaches English to our school’s freshmen.. During our interview with her, we asked Ms. Montgomery how her high school experience has affected her style of teaching.  She lightheartedly confessed, “I have definitely stolen some lessons from my high school teachers to teach my students.”  High school teachers and their lessons, as well all now, can have profound and lasting impacts on students.  However, many students are still unsure about the new staff and their contribution to the student body– likely due to the difficulty of some of the favorite teachers at Timpview being replaced. We’re optimistic, however, with teachers like Ms. Montgomery, who told us of her goals for her students this year.  “I want students coming into my class at the start of the year and at the end of the year to come out of my class as better students,”.

 

Another new teacher joining TImpview this year is Mr. Lebaron, he teaches the GAP class. As a new teacher we also wondered what his thoughts were for this school year. In the interview we asked him how he makes his classroom a safe place for student to learn, and he replied with, “I think it’s really important to have a safe place especially for students to come to, I actually teach in the library, so the library is a nice calm and peaceful place, students do need some time to rest and take a break, I’m going to advocate for that, however I do want students to work on their work and stay focused.” When hearing this response we got to admire how thoughtful and encouraging he is as a teacher. Students greatly appreciate a supportive teacher who acknowledges one’s thoughts and feelings. This kind of teacher might also encourage students to be more focused on their goals, as they feel heard and validated. When asked, what goals he sets to improve his teaching, he responded with, ¨I want to get to know the students a little bit more, understand what they need to do to graduate, so some goals I’m working on are creating a plan and goals for each student so they can know their timeline to graduate.¨ 

 

 New teachers always take a few years to acclimate to the new school environment, and it is especially difficult during the midst of a pandemic. However, their newness can be a refreshing change of pace for students, as we all search for the way we learn most effectively. . For example, there are many ways to teach math, and every math teacher has their own style. These different ways of teaching are good for students to be exposed to, because they’re able to learn different ways of approaching the subject of math. That is what high school ultimately is– it doesn’t just teach us about individual subjects, it teaches us a deeper lesson: the lesson of hard work and problem solving. As we wave farewell to our old favorites and welcome the new teachers, we can all appreciate how much each one has to teach and offer.

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