BY ANGELINA SAKALOUSKAYA, Sophomore
BLYTHEWOOD-- Blythewood High School English teacher Claire Robinson is a very enthusiastic, passionate, and energetic teacher.
Her original career plan was to become a guidance counselor.
“I wanted to be a guidance counselor and was misinformed that I had to be a teacher in order to become one,” Robinson said.
Working with students is one of the things she loves most about teaching.
Since English was her favorite subject, that is what she decided to teach.
Out of all her years of teaching, she’s had many great memories.
“One of the funniest moments of me teaching, that I can remember, is when a student played a prank on me using a rubber moving twitching rat. The rat had guts coming out of it and we thought it was so funny that we stuck it by the door and waited for a teacher or student to see it. Instead, the principal walked in,” Robinson said.
Teaching is Robinson’s passion.
“I like teaching because I love to read so if I sit here doing things I love it is a bonus. I also love seeing students get the spark in their eye and appreciate learning.”
Her life at work has a great effect to her daily life.
“My life at home is busy, busy, busy. There are not enough hours in the day. Balancing time between kids and my job is tough,” said Robinson.
Robinson feels like she is a parent both at work and school.
“Being a parent is the hardest job. Teaching is the second. Both my school and work life are hard because I am always second guessing myself to make sure I am doing the right thing and raising my kids right. It is like I am a parent at school as well as at home.”
The word she used to describe herself was nerdy because she gets ¨enthusiastic about nerdy things¨.
She loves working with students.
¨My favorite part of working with students is seeing their personalities mature and gain confidence. I love watching students learn who they are.¨
Robinson does not regret her decision to become a teacher.
¨If I were to go back in time, I would still be a teacher. I have been doing it for so long i can’t imagine doing anything else. I would still have to do something in the school but would like to be more one on one with the student.¨
There are many ups and downs to being a teacher.
¨The ups of teaching is seeing a struggling student just get it, like a light bulb flash. The downs of teaching is how much grading is needed to be done as well as trying to motivate someone whose unmotivated,¨ Robinson said.
Her kids are a big part of her life.
¨Both of them were adopted but they’re still just regular kids. That’s just how they got here. I have one middle schooler in the seventh grade and one third grader. My middle schooler is in that super cool stage while my third grader is just crazy, silly, and funny.¨
Being a parent definitely makes her a better teacher.
¨I get to see the perspective from a parent’s side and students side, and it makes me more of an understanding person.¨
Former student Erin Weitzel who is a junior gave her opinion on Robinson’s personality.
¨Mrs. Robinson is fun and energetic because in class she would always be bouncing around and giving us really funny examples when learning about topics. Although, I would probably change the required reading of Cry the Beloved Country because i hated that book,¨ Weitzel stated.
Ms. Robinson is a good teacher because she is able to appeal to her students on a level to get them to understand things better.
¨There is a difference between just teaching and engaging in things which is what she did. I would love to have her again,¨ Weitzel said.
Another student also voiced her opinion on Robinson’s class.
¨Mrs. Robinson is a devote teacher who loves her students because she gives her students the help to be successful in her class, the only thing I would change is the timeliness of her “pop-quizzes,” sophomore Emily Gayle said.
Robinson is motivated when she teaches and she allows her help at anytime. Sophomore Stephanie Carr also gave her opinion on Robinson.
¨I would describe Mrs. Robinson as very preppy and in love with teaching. It is her passion and my reasoning is because she makes class and school just interesting everyday,¨ Carr said.
She is a good teacher because she honestly loves her job and teaching is her passion.
¨The only thing I would change is the pop quote quizzes because I do the reading but sometimes I am confused and I fail and can’t do anything about it because I didn't understand,¨ Carr said.
