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as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a teacher. I guess
my desire grew out of the fact that I had great experiences with
outstanding teachers in the public schools of Charlotte, North Carolina.
I loved learning about history in junior high and high school and
I decided that I was going to become a high-school history teacher.
I even wrote one of my essays for admission to Duke about my desire
to become a teacher.
Fortunately for me, Duke re-started the M.A.T. program during
my junior year. The program allowed me to build on my knowledge
base in history and, more importantly, gave me the opportunity to
work closely with two master teachers for an entire school year.
This experience has proved invaluable to my effectiveness in and
enjoyment of teaching.
In the ten years since I left Duke, my career in teaching has
surpassed my hopes and expectations. In this job, there is truly
never a dull moment. The everyday challenges of teaching make it
both frustrating and fascinating. How many people in their thirties
still get to go to pep rallies, break up fights, and read secret
notes passed during class? Teaching high school keeps me in touch
with young people at a very interesting time in their lives. Though
I really never know what influence I have on my students, the possibility
that I might help point a kid in the right direction motivates me.
I find teaching fascinating because of the relationships I develop
with my students and because of my hope that I will be able to make
a difference in the lives of some of these young people.
Teaching has allowed me to work with every type of student you
can imagine, from the over-sugared, undersized ninth-grade bundle
of hormones to the too-cool-for-school twelfth-grade senior slider.
I have taught students who are incredibly motivated and students
who see little or no value in school. Each type of student--each
student--requires different strategies from me and returns different
kinds of rewards.
When I taught advanced placement (AP) classes or classes with
students who really enjoyed school, I immediately felt the rewards
from teaching. The effort and interest of these students matched
my own, and that was extremely exciting. I now work with students
who have had little success in school and who, for the most part,
do not enjoy it. My students struggle to bring themselves, a pencil,
and a piece of paper into the classroom. Once they arrive, we engage
in epic struggles between the forces of energy and engagement and
the forces of lethargy and apathy. On many days I lose this battle,
but I survive to fight another day. None of my current students
loves learning the way the AP kids did--but I believe the work I
am doing with these students is the most important thing I can do
as a teacher.
I see success when a student who claims to "hate" school
begins to ask questions in class. I see success when a student who
says he does not read picks up a book. I see success when a student
who lacks self-confidence begins to trust herself and her ability
to answer a question. My challenge as a teacher is to engage the
student who sits
in class and dares me to teach him. My challenge is to cajole,
to convince, to coerce these students to believe that success in
school is important and that they can experience it. I do not always
meet these challenges, but I try to meet my students where they
are and encourage them to become interested in learning. I think
that if I can help them engage in the process of learning, they
will achieve success on their own.
My first ten years of teaching have been a blast. Despite the
frustrations that come from working with students who are not really
motivated to learn, I feel that I am making a difference for some
students. I enjoy the task of trying to bring history alive for
students raised on professional wrestling and video games. Few days
go by when I am not forced to think hard and grapple with difficult
social, cultural, and educational challenges. I feel great when
I plan and implement a lesson that works because the students really
"get it." I can see the satisfaction and interest in their
faces and I am certain they can see it in mine.
Hunter Hogewood '90, M.A.T. '91
Chevy Chase, Maryland
 chose
to become a teacher because I really enjoy young people, and I became
an English teacher because the subject matter excites me; literature
is beautiful, moving, enduring. My mother, who taught enthusiastically
for thirty-seven years, was my major role model and inspiration.
The interesting and challenging teachers I had in high school and
in college affirmed my decision.
In the past forty years (with time out for raising a family),
I have taught tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades at all ability
levels: basic, standard, enriched or college preparatory, academically
gifted or honors, and advanced placement.
I stay committed because of the students. The students I teach
today are as enthusiastic, as well-behaved, as committed to their
studies as the students I taught in my first year of teaching. I
hope that my contribution as a teacher is to touch the students'
lives, to turn them on to learning, to give them a lifelong love
of literature. I feel I have been successful if I see understanding
of the literature in their essays, if I see improvement in their
writing through the year, if I see the light bulb going on in their
brain in class discussion, if they come back to see me when they
are in college and share experiences or tell me they are doing well.
Some of my former students have become English teachers themselves;
I see them at workshops and like to think I had a hand in their
decision.
Teaching necessitates a major commitment of time and effort for
the teacher, and it requires a great deal of understanding and help
on the part of family members. I was really amazed and touched when
my daughter became an English teacher. I had thought the sight of
my bringing home countless essays and essay tests over the years
would have discouraged her.
The English curriculum in high school has remained consistent
for eleventh and twelfth grades, with the eleventh grade focused
on American literature and the twelfth grade focused on British
literature. At the tenth-grade level, however, there has been a
major change from genres (poetry, short stories, plays, novels)
to World Literature. Before this, most of the literature studied
in all grades was either British or American. Today students study
Chinese, Sumerian, Russian, South American, Canadian, French, Spanish,
and other authors, reflecting our country's growing diversity and
the emphasis on multiculturalism.
A major change for me has been the age levels of my peers. Most
of my fellow teachers in the English department this year are the
age of my daughter. It is a joy to work with them. For the most
part, the young people coming into the profession are extremely
dedicated, well-prepared, and idealistic.
I do not think any other career would have been nearly as enjoyable
for me. After all these years, I still look forward to going to
work each day to meet my students and want to teach that unit again
next year in hopes I can "do it better."
Linda Lunsford Moore '62, M.A.T. '63
Durham, North Carolina
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