Laura McKay, High School Biology Teacher
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Laura McKay, High School Biology Teacher
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Impressions/ Introduction: On an early summer morning, 9:42 A.M. E.S.T. Saturday, June 18, 2006 to be precise, I approached Building 6 of Timothy Christian School in Piscataway New Jersey, noting how little has actually changed in the last four years. As I entered the building, it felt very strange to be walking those particular halls again, especially with them being practically empty. I was immediately greeted by my smiling, former Biology teacher who doesn’t appear to have physically changed one iota since my high school days. Her sensible hairstyle, easy mannerisms, and casual attire still shouted “science-loving soccer coach,” which is Miss McKay in a very simplified nutshell. Her eyes still contained that intelligent spark which declares a deep passion for Biology and life in general. I was comfortable throughout the entire interview process because I had gotten to know Miss McKay fairly well both as a Biology student and as a middle school soccer player. The only slight awkwardness was in the very beginning when we met in the hallway. As I had not seen her in quite awhile, I was not quite sure what proper greeting protocol ought to be. I think we wordlessly settled on grins, a friendly handshake, and standard cheery greetings. The issue of proper way to address her never really came up because my stubborn mind will forever label her Miss McKay. We gravitated towards her classroom and took seats in the front row. She sat in the seat directly in front of the one I had occupied throughout my high school Chemistry and Biology classes. We chatted idly for a few moments while we fiddled with the tape recorder and scooted the desks as close as they would go without invading personal space. Then, like any first time interviewer with little tact, I immediately launched into my questions. In hindsight, it did feel rather odd to be firing so many questions at my former teacher. I was your average, quiet, “good” student who took notes furiously and answered a decent amount of questions, but I tended to stay away from asking questions. Still, the interview went smoothly because we both accepted the fact that we would sound horribly silly on the cheap tape recorder I brought with me. Before the interview, I had known Miss McKay was smart, personable, friendly, and a darn good teacher. After interviewing her, I know that she’s all that and much more. She possesses a wealth of hard-earned, practical teaching wisdom and a spirit willing to impart that knowledge. As I did as a student, I plan to take full advantage of the teaching and life skills which can be gleaned from Miss McKay’s attitude and teaching style. Her answers to my questions only confirmed what she demonstrates in the classroom: organization, fairness, excitement, solid subject knowledge, sense of control, and clarity are all keys to succeeding as a teacher. |
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Miss McKay’s Story: Laura McKay just finished her seventeenth year of teaching at Timothy Christian School which is located in Piscataway, New Jersey near where she grew up. This year, she taught Biology but in the past she has also taught physical education. Next school year, she will be the high school principal but she hopes to eventually return to teaching. She is one of the lucky few who knew what she wanted to do early. She knew in high school that she wanted to teach because she enjoyed working with kids and loved sports. The combination led her to The King’s College in Briarcliff Manor, New York where she earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Physical Education and minored in Biology. Then, over the course of seven years, while working full time, she earned a Masters degree in Physical Education in Biomechanics from Temple University in Philadelphia. When asked if she has ever been tempted to quit teaching, she smiled and said, “Yeah, my first year; that was probably the roughest year. Everything’s new; you’re overwhelmed.” At this point, I’m thinking: Great, just great, first year of teaching equals worst year of life to date and trying to nod and smile understanding of something I know I have no clue about. I next asked her what kept her in the profession, desperately clinging to the hope I’m hoping she has to offer. She coolly answered, “I had people come alongside me. Mrs. Darling told me, ‘Things are going to get better your second year. Just hang in there. After Christmas, it’s all downhill’ and I really felt that too.” Thank goodness for reassuring teachers who have been there and know that the second year gets better. It gives newcomers hope. I was curious so I asked Miss McKay a series of questions about what kind of teaching style she believes is effective and what has influenced her teaching style. She responded by saying that her father and a former Bible teacher had influenced her teaching. Her father taught at Timothy Christian School for twenty-two years. She says, “His commitment to excellence, organizational skills, and the way he relates to kids, and his high standards are things he’s instilled in me since childhood.” She also relates how fair he was in class, particularly noting that there wasn’t any favoritism. Concerning the other influential teacher, she says, “Mr. Galven [sic] was exciting, motivating, he could make the material come alive. It gave me a desire to study on my own. He was very dynamic. I wanted to be passionate about the material like that.” As her former student, I can attest to the fact that passion for the subject certainly comes through. One expects a soccer coach to shout and jump on the sidelines, so I should not have been as surprised as I was to see her practically start doing jumping jacks in the middle of describing the mitochondria. A pressing challenge she faced as a new teacher was adjusting to the high school work ethic, as it compared to college, and overcoming the natural comparisons to the teachers who preceded her. She overcame those challenges by listening to the students, being flexible, and being consistent. Eventually, the comparisons just ceased as the years went on because the “new” students had never had the other teachers. One challenge Miss McKay insists is a recurring theme is running out of time. She deals with this challenge by continually re-evaluating what’s important and what’s not. In general, she feels that the most challenging part of teaching is “Meeting the individual needs of students. Being able to catch students who aren’t doing so well yet not boring the ‘smarter’ ones.” Not all of teaching is challenges and drudgery. According to Miss McKay, the most rewarding aspects of the job are getting kids to enjoy the material and developing relationships with them. Not surprisingly, her favorite lab to perform is the genetics one where the students pair off and create a child with various characteristics by flipping a coin. She enjoys watching the students “interacting, laughing, saying, ‘Not the unibrow!’” and secretly roots for the unibrow. She does not lie when she admits that some funny looking children come out of those coin-flipping decisions. I have distinct memories of the child that came out of that lab when I did it. I can assure you that when you’re in high school and it’s your hypothetical child coming out with a unibrow and awful skin coloring because the coin was cruel and the colored pencils just don’t give a proper human tint, it’s a big deal. I inquired if she had any advice to give a new teacher and she said, “Hang in there your first year. It gets 100% better after your first year and probably even 50% better after that, your third year.” Those are daunting but promising percentages. She also said to “find people, know it’s going to be rough because everything’s new, but you will be able to build on that in the future. Set your tone early. Don’t try to be their friend right away. That doesn’t mean you can’t be friendly but that’s not the immediate goal.” I thought that was a profound statement because of the simple truth it conveys. She continued by saying, “Be disciplined and organized and have high standards right from the beginning. They will meet those high expectations. You can lighten up later but it’s much harder to tighten up later.” Several people have told me this recently and I completely agree. I wonder if I’ll actually remember their vital advice at the correct moment. |
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Reflections: The whole interview was immensely interesting; it is difficult to pick only three powerful moments. However, if I had to pick three moments, I’d say that learning what Miss McKay does during her summers, what has influenced her teaching style, and what she thinks make a “good” teacher were the most interesting moments. These were meaningful because they gave me a better mental picture of Miss McKay as a person and helped me form a picture of the type of teacher I aspire to be. Miss McKay spends her summers working at a camp. At first, I thought what a nice, relaxing way to spend the summer, but then she went on to explain that she works pretty much the entire summer and even spends part of the year doing work in preparation for the summer. Then, I thought yikes, I don’t think I could do that. Throughout high school, I had known Miss McKay fairly well, but I do not remember her saying much about the summer camp. Hearing how much time and effort is spent making sure things run smoothly gave me a fuller picture of her as a person. It was also nice to know that there is time to dedicate elsewhere. I was glad to hear that work, even hard work, outside the classroom can be beneficial. Another moment I found interesting was when Miss McKay described how her father influenced her teaching style. In high school, I too had Mr. McKay for chemistry so I remember his teaching style and could mentally compare the two. I remember that commitment to excellence and friendly yet firm manner with the students. Though I must say that Miss McKay was far more excitable in the classroom than her father was, I do not recall being bored in Chemistry. Miss McKay also mentioned that the influences her father has had on her have been instilled since childhood. This statement made a lot of sense to me because I have long felt that family is vital to a student’s success. Learning what Miss McKay believes makes a “good” teacher was comforting. Hearing her say “being organized is a huge thing” was awesome because I’ve always been pretty organized. The other “halves” important to a good teacher are discipline, a heart for students, and knowledge of subject matter. I like having a nice list like this because it gives me something to concentrate on. The discipline part has me nervous, and I’m not sure if my heart is ready to face students. I’m not sure how well I know the subject yet because I’m not sure what the district I’ll be working in expects of me. At another point in the interview, Miss McKay said that in the first couple of years it might not be unusual to be only a day or two ahead of the students. That’s a nerve-wracking thought but oddly comforting too because at least know that such a thing is normal. The more I hear about teaching, the more challenging a career it seems. To get advice from someone I have known to be successful was a great experience. Among the many things I learned are the traits of a good teacher, how important control can be, and how much it matters just to care for the students. I’ve never stopped being a student so I already have a good idea of what sets a student at ease, what will bore him or her and what can captivate interest. The things like speaking to the students one-on-one, hearing about their day, and listening to them seem too simplistic to matter but they do. I also learned that it’s good to get away from teaching every once in awhile. Taking a break and doing something else, even for a short while can renew the strength of character a good teacher will need. Conducting this oral history interview confirmed many of the ideas I had about what teaching takes and what it takes out of a person. On the other hand, it did impact how I view teaching in that it reminded me that the challenges to come have been overcome by others and can be overcome by me. Just like life, there are many different aspects to being a teacher and many different roles a teacher must play, including mentor. I had previously known that teachers are mentors, but doing this interview made that point more real. I have been privileged to have some wonderful mentors and it scares me a little to know that if I do my job properly someone may view me the way I view my mentors. |