Erin Smith, middle school English teacher

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: This is actually my very first year.

Q: Where did you go to college? What did you major and minor in?

A: MIZZOU. I majored in secondary English education. So, my degree was in high school education. I had a minor in English and I had a certificate of multicultural studies, and then I went back and I took an exam so I could teach middle school English, too.

Q: Why did you decide to teach at GCAA?

A: I chose GCAA because they offered me a job, but also because I grew up participating in the arts; I’m a singer, I was in theatre, I was in choir my whole life up until graduating college, so I felt like this was a really go fit for me to educate students who also love those same types of things that I do.

Q: What has been the most interesting thing about teaching here, so far?

A: It might sound kind of lame, but I’m always interested in seeing different fashion choices between middle schoolers and how those fashion choices reflect people’s art, and then of course, high school too, since I’m not super involved with the high school students, but I do get to see them. I love some of the different outfits people are wearing. I think that’s one of the most interesting things.

Q: What are some of your goals for your students?

A: I would think that one of my biggest goals for my students right now is to really master some speaking and listening skills. A lot of the time, when we’re having discussions, everyone just wants to talk all at once, but the goal for my students is to be able to have academic discussions in class, where we’re respectful, and we’re able to wait, and actually have a thoughtful conversation in an academic setting.