Lots of people say students think this about their school or that, but has anyone ever wondered what teachers think of their school? Specifically freshmen teachers? Because they are the ones who help kids transition from middle schoolers to high schoolers. If teachers have a positive opinion on the school they work at, they can help students more effectively compared to a teacher who hates their school and the only thing keeping them there is the pay.
“I like at Leaders that …students have a lot of …autonomy. Meaning they can make a lot of decisions about how they’re learning,” said Vincent Ricco.
Many freshman teachers like Leaders and believe that their more hands on approach is not only better for the student’s education, but better for their teaching, as they find it more enjoyable to make the lessons more interesting.
“…this is a consortium school so we don’t have to teach to the regents exams so I can be a lot more creative with my curriculum, I can teach what I want, or what I think the students want to learn about and I’m not just trying to fly through a bunch of contents to prepare you guys for a test. We can go as fast or as slow as we want,” said Elle Ferguson, 9th grade Global Studies teacher.
But, there are some things Leaders is lacking in.
“I wish we had a …full time tech person. … making sure that they are working,” said David Sadoff, 9th grade Science teacher.
In addition to better technology support, teachers point out that Leaders and most high schools suffer from a cleanliness issue.
“The only thing I dislike, and this is like a high school problem, not a Leaders problem, but there’s a lot of germs everywhere because of children and every surface is sticky. And there’s gum under the tables,” said Ferguson.
This can be a big problem to students as well, as some students prefer to work in a cleaner environment. No student or teacher wants to work somewhere where paper can get stuck on their desk.
Though there is a cleanliness issue and a technological issue, the freshmen teachers of Leaders still say that they love working at Leaders because they truly like the community and what Leaders has to offer.