Written by Micah Xu, Converge multimedia journalism intern and Junior at Gwinnett School of Math, Science & Technology (GSMST)
Meet Mrs. Covin, a teacher who has worked at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (GSMST) almost since its inception. She has taught long enough to see former students invite her to their weddings and even to see them form families, so she knows a thing or two about teaching after doing it for so long. She was inspired to teach students from a relatively early age, and after being inspired by her 7th grade history teacher, she figured out what she wanted to do. Her history teacher did something that all good teachers strive to do: connect the subject to the world.
Mrs. Covin has advocated strongly for her subject, language arts, because it is one of the only subjects that everybody at every job has to do. Construction worker? They have to write resumes to get into the job itself. Scientist? Scientists write articles about their discoveries so that they can actually make money off of their research. The point is: all jobs require writing to some extent, which is precisely why Mrs. Covin chose to teach language over the other subjects she could have taught.
As for her teaching style itself, it is fairly standard. Typical lectures, typical classroom, typical writing and reading assignments make up the majority of her time in the classroom. The part that differentiates her from other language teachers is that she tends to try and make the classroom laugh. When asked about the matter, she said this: “I am known for my digression. When I hear from former students, they remember my digressions the most.” She wants her lessons to stick to her students, and having tangents here and there adds flavor to the otherwise bland lectures.
When asked about why she teaches high school students, she had this to say: ”Personally, I have always enjoyed working with high school students. They give me hope for the future.” She sees her job as a teacher to be a thankless, but important job. When students come back to her years later just to strike up a conversation with her, she feels satisfied. Her students are what makes the job worth it in her eyes, because the students are what is left after the lectures and the class are over. ”I obviously don’t do this for the money. I think it is important, and I think that I get back as much if not more than I give.”
She does not regret becoming a teacher at all, and when asked if she had any closing remarks, she had this to say: “Teaching at GSMST, I have never worked harder but I’ve never been happier.”
And isn’t happiness worth it?
