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Teacher Feature: Teachers share why they got into the profession of teaching

Avneet Dhaliwal, Jesus Cisneros-Obledo, and Ming Wong

June 1, 2023

English Teacher Blain Willard

Describe why you became a teacher.

I was an English major and I loved literature and I was not going through college necessarily with any career in mind. I knew that I was pursuing more education. I was pursuing more knowledge. I wanted to grow as a person and honesty, I started off as a forestry major and I found myself week to week not really getting excited about my bio homework. But, I was taking a prerequisite English course and I always wanted to do that English homework because I loved the discussions and conversations and I wanted to show up prepared. After a while, I just sort of had a realization like, wow, you really love this stuff. and you’re kind of dreading this stuff. Like maybe you should do more of the stuff you love. So I changed my major to English without really an intention whatsoever of becoming a teacher. So once I got my degree and I had to really think about what next I did realize that some of the people who I admire most in my life were educators and the lives they’d built for themselves and their families and the work that they had done in schools. All of that seemed inspiring and worthwhile to me so that’s how I made my way into teaching.

Who inspired you?

I have my in-laws. Both my in-laws were teachers in the Lebanon School District. I have high school teachers who honestly I wasn’t necessarily inspired by their curriculum and what they taught but just the way they were and the way they took care of their students and their relationship skills. It seemed like worthwhile work.

Did you have any apprehensions about becoming a teacher?

Not at all.

What other careers were you considering?

I wanted to be a forest major. Honestly, a plug for really talking to your counselors and talking to your advisors. I wanted to be an environmentalist. I was really interested in conversation. I found myself in a field where every class I was taking was about measuring board feet and how to cut down trees to sell them. I absolutely got started down the wrong path because I didn’t talk to the right people. On the hard days in teaching, like when I’m thinking what in the world am I doing in this profession? I’m no good at this. What else could I be doing? I’ve always dreamt of being a postman. I would love to have an urban route where you get to wear shorts and walk around pushing a cart and delivering mail to people.

Who was an important teacher to you growing up?

There was a science teacher named Mr. Tischner who introduced me to Woody Guthrie. When I was going through relationship issues he just always had time to talk. So he’s a good guy.

Spanish Teacher Ken Beiser

Why did you become a teacher?

I have always enjoyed working with teenagers and I was always passionate about language and culture, so putting those two interests together made sense.

Why did you choose the subject you chose to teach?

I never in a million years thought that I would be a high school Spanish teacher. I knew Spanish and I was using it in other situations like interpreting in school. I used to go around with students who were new to the United States and be the language support they needed. I did that for about 4-5 years and I worked with a lot of other teachers which, kind of, made me want to have a classroom of my own and since I knew Spanish, it just made sense that I would teach that.

What inspired you enough to switch from a translator to a teacher?

When teachers would be able to work with students and they would finally understand a concept you could see the excitement on their faces. That made me think that if I could have that effect on students when it comes to learning about new cultures and different points of view, that would be something very rewarding.

Do you experience that feeling often?

Yes, especially when there are students who are learning a new language, it’s very difficult; however, when they start to get it there is this general excitement of “this was really hard but now I can do it!”. Sometimes, at the beginning of the year, I’ll have students go to Latin American countries in the summer and tell me about how they were able to communicate with the locals. And knowing that I can have that effect on people is very rewarding.

What made you choose the iconic theme you have in your classroom?

One of the biggest things they tell you when you go to teacher school is to be 100% authentically yourself. Maybe I took that a little bit too far, but you know, there are weeks where I spend more time in my classroom than I do at home with my family. So, it’s important for me to make sure that my classroom is a place I enjoy being and have fun in. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t like it as much.

Math Teacher Stephen Ockerman

Could you describe why you wanted to become a teacher?

Yeah, so back when I was in school, I was really good at math where students asked me a lot for help, just kids who were in my class. I was a seventh grader in Algebra One and they asked me for help and made comments like, “you should teach a class.” Which, like, as a teacher now, seems a little offensive. I really enjoyed seeing the moments when kids got it. And so I kind of just carried that with me. And, you know, I always enjoyed working with kids. So one of my first jobs while I was in college was working as a camp counselor for the YMCA and just love working with kids. Then out of college, I worked here at West as an SCA. And, again, I just love working with kids. I love when something’s really, really difficult for someone and being able to help them finally get it.

Is there anything that inspired you to teach?

Yeah, I would say past teachers. I had one in particular from when I was at the first college I went to; his name was Professor Barama. And just seeing his joy in the classroom and his excitement about the material he was teaching. And how even though he was teaching us Calculus, he just brought life to it and just had fun with it and showed his personality as well. It was just one thing that kind of stuck with me, and it makes it easier to talk to him and see him as a person and then create those relationships. Which is like such a big part of our teaching.

Were there any other careers that you had in mind?

Yeah, I was thinking about right after getting my bachelor’s in math. When I first graduated college, my four year school, I was planning on being an actuary just because I knew that there was a high demand for it, it made good money, and I felt I was good at math. I was always pretty good with stats. And so it was just something that I knew I could probably do a lot. But that’s when you had to take a couple of tests beforehand. So as I was starting with those, I was working at Target, and my wife now, but girlfriend at the time, her dad asked me if I wanted to work here as an SCA. And so I was like, hey, beats working at Target right now. And I always kind of thought, in the back of my mind, maybe teaching would be a great thing to do. And I would love to do that. So I did that and then realized that, no, I don’t want to go be an extra I want to teach.

Was there a reason why you chose to teach math in specific?

Just that idea that a lot of people really struggle with math. And, to me, maybe it was because it came a little bit more naturally, just because I taught myself how to read when I was younger. I first started learning how to read by reading the back of baseball cards, which is all stats. So it just kind of came naturally to me. And then I just saw the people who struggle with it and seeing that.Again, that idea of helping someone with something that’s really, really challenging for them. And then seeing them finally get it and just that like sheer joy and excitement that they get and like knowing that we’ve got to be a part of that helping them get that that’s what was the thing that made me love teaching so much.

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About the Contributors

Avneet Dhaliwal, Editor-In-Chief

Avneet Dhaliwal has been on staff for more than a year and is now beginning her second as an Editor-in-Chief (EIC). Her area of specialization includes managing online content with her Co-Director, Gigi Roldan. With an affinity for editing her fellow staff member's papers, Avneet hopes to run into more grammatical mistakes in the future.

Ming Wong, Editor-in-Chief

Ming is a fourth-year staff member and current editor-in-chief. To him, journalism is a way to use his inner curiosity in a way that impacts the student body of WAHS, believing that democracy depends on journalists of all levels in society. However, in his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and his pets.