Teachers rarely discuss their past high school experiences unless a student asks them. Teachers can lead interesting lives that can be surprising to few. Some of these experiences can be similar to students now, participating in the same sport or club, or even having the same dreams and careers.
Jim Davis, an English teacher, went to George School, a private boarding school in Newton, Pennsylvania. He was a stage manager for a few plays and played on the basketball and lacrosse teams. He didn’t have a favorite teacher in high school, but one that stood out to him was Ms. Lyd as she left a note on his paper saying, “Oh, I’m from North Carolina, too.” He said it showed she read his paper and treated him like a human. Mr. Davis said he had wanted to become a sports writer due to his love of sports and writing. “I could go and watch a game and write about it and make money,” however, the reality of this was much different than his intended dream, with bad hours and pay. He considered himself a not-great, unmotivated student, having B’s and C’s with the occasional A. “I didn’t really care about high school. I wasn’t motivated academically. I was more worried about being cool and playing sports.” However, that all changed when he went to college and started taking his learning seriously, where he excelled.
Mary Beth McGinty, an English teacher here at Greenwood, attended Woodford County High School in Versailles, Kentucky. “I was very involved, I thought,” playing soccer and basketball, as well as being involved in the Pep Club (equivalent to Greenwood’s Oar Club), Beta, National Honor Society, the Key Club (similar to Beta), and the Student Council President. Ms. McGinty mentioned that she had many favorite teachers, English mostly, but one that stood out to her was her senior year AP English teacher, Ms. Hamilton. “She treated us like adults, made her expectations very clear, and expected a lot out of us, so we all worked hard.” She credits her love of English to Ms. Hamilton as it helped to have teachers like Ms. Hamilton in her high school career.
Hillary Galloway, a Physics teacher, went to Garrard County High School in Lancaster, Kentucky. She played golf and softball, was the State Student Council president, and participated in the Science Club. Ms. Galloway considered herself a studious student but still balanced her social life. “I was a very type-A student and I was at school for work, but I would obviously hang out with people after school.” Ms. Galloway’s favorite teacher was Ms. Hart, her chemistry teacher, which led her to pursue a career in chemistry and physics.
They all had one thing in common about a difference in high school then to now: the use of technology. “I think not having that technology readily in our pockets helped with the mass hysteria that happens today,” McGinty said, referring to the rise of school shooting threats. She was in high school during the Columbine shooting in 1999, when these kinds of horrific events increased. “My parents divorced in high school…a lot of kids go through that, it was just a little bit different because of technology,” says Ms. Galloway.
MaryBeth McGinty, James Davis, and Hillary Galloway have had varied high school experiences but they all share one thing in common: their love of teaching and educating the posterity
