The Avon Echo

by Jackson Zeunik

New students wallow about their first day at a new school, but to new teachers they have no time to whine. First impressions matter and they need to prepare. Avon High School hired 36 new staff members this year. All these upcoming staff members must deal with the new school year’s worries. Several new teachers weighed in on what moving to a new school is like.

Mr. Allen, a returning student teacher, and Mrs. Spaeth, a Texan kindergarten teacher now teaching highschoolers, weighed in on being a new teacher here at Avon. New experiences and ever-changing conditions are some of the things these teachers dread. On the other hand, they adore getting to know students and connecting with their fellow teachers.

Mr. Allen used to be a student teacher for Mr. Karr last year. He said he stayed at Avon because of its charming atmosphere and the fantastic connections he had made with the student body.

“All the students I worked with I loved, you know,” said Allen. “I had no problems with any of the kids at all.”

New teachers don’t just teach a subject, they can also stand out in their own ways and bring innovative ideas to Avon. Allen says the way he stands out the most is through his conversations with students. He drew on the teachers he remembered most to inspire him.

“All the teachers that I remember are from all the classes that I remember the most,” said Allen. ” [Those classes] are the ones where the teachers had the most personality and the funniest stories.”

A teacher’s job is to teach a subject that could influence hundreds of kids and generations to come. Teaching these subjects requires passion and drive to get the message across to students. FACs teacher Aubrey Spaeth drives to inspire students to pursue education.

“With a decline in the amount of people going into education,” Spaeth said, “I’m hoping that I can inspire more young adults to want to go into teaching.”

Teaching at a high school level is often considered more difficult to teach than elementary school children. However, Spaeth has found that her transition from kindergarteners to highschoolers was pleasant.

“I have found that I’ve really enjoyed the connections and the level of thinking, and how respectful they really are to adults,” Spaeth said.

Teachers don’t have to stand alone in education, their fellow teachers have their backs. Spaeth commented on how her fellow department teachers have been supportive and helpful since her move to Avon.

“Here at Avon, everyone’s got your back, I value that,” Spaeth said. “I absolutely love my FACs department team, a lot. We collaborate really well. If we need something, they’re quick to help support.”

Moving to a new school can be stressful and even more so for teachers. They don’t just have to worry about messing up one class, but all seven periods of the same class. Even as a new teacher teaching an entirely different age group, Spaeth’s transition to the high school has been easy and comfortable.

“I’ve really enjoyed my experience here so far,” said Spaeth. “I’m really surprised at how comfortable I was jumping right in to such a big drastic change [of a different] age group.”