While it’s not uncommon for MV to get new teachers, we got quite a bit more than usual this year. Here is the opportunity to get to know a few.
How are you liking MV so far?
Ms. Anderson: “I like it at Mt. Vernon a lot. I worked here previously and all of my kids have gone here or are going here so I really like the environment here. I’m glad to be back.”
Mr. Gordon: “I like it a lot; I enjoy it. Everyone has been super nice and welcoming, teenagers are teenagers, they’re the same across the districts.”
Miss. Engle: “I love it. I love my job, being here has been really great. The students are really great and I feel like I’m able to do my job the way I have always wanted to and teach the way I want to, which is really great. Everyone is super friendly too.”
What schools, if any, did you teach at before?
Ms. Anderson: “Just daycares so as far; as for elementary to high school, just Mt Vernon.”
Mr. Gordon: “I taught at Brownsburg High School over in Brownsburg and I taught at Lynhurst 7th and 8th grade center in Wayne Township.”
Miss Engle: “Last year I taught at Muncie Community Schools. I actually taught at an elementary school last year so I have taught K through five.”
What College did you go to and what did you major in?
Ms. Anderson: “Ball State and I actually started in photojournalism, but my degree is in FACS, family and consumer
sciences.”
Mr. Gordon: “I went to two colleges. I graduated from Purdue with a Bachelor’s Degree in management. I graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a Masters Degree in math education.”
Miss Engle: “I went to Ball State University and my major was art education. I graduated with honors, a 4.0.”
Why did you decide to teach at MV?
Ms. Anderson: “I was here before and I really enjoyed it, but went in a different direction. I applied again this summer for an instructional assistant, but got a different job so I took that. The principals called me and asked if I would be interested in coming back as the FACS teacher. Because that’s what my degree is in, I was really excited to do that.”
Mr. Gordon: “My family and I moved to the area and my wife and I, who are both teachers, have always been fans of working in the areas that not only we live in but also where our kids go to school. That brought us to Mt Vernon.”
Miss Engle: “I really wanted to come out to Mt Vernon because I’ve heard really great things and I was really excited for the opportunity. I was just looking for a change, and for high school, I love high school.”
When you were in school did you enjoy the subject you teach?
Ms. Anderson: “Yes, I loved it. FACS and PE were my favorites when I was in school.”
Mr. Gordon: “Yes, but I was lucky. At my high school there were two different geometry teachers, one who I didn’t have that was super proof heavy and the teacher that I had was very algebra heavy which I was really good at so I enjoyed it, but I think I lucked out on teachers.”
Miss Engle: “Yes, my senior year of high school I took six art classes because that is all I was interested in taking. Definitely not my math classes.”
Finally, why did you decide to become a teacher?
Ms. Anderson: “I always liked working with kids and I like to share what I know with everyone. Kids are the ones that seem to need to know it more so teaching was a good fit to be able to share what I know. Nutrition is my passion.”
Mr. Gordon: “The short story is I have had a lot of jobs before this and I always found that my favorite part of all the jobs were training people, teaching people, and helping people become better. I took a six month break from work and took care of my daughters. I was a stay at home dad for a while. While I was home, I realized I had to do something because staying home with them was not it. Teaching was something that I always thought about doing, so it was really just deciding what I wanted to teach. When I looked back at all my other careers and jobs and really what I loved at school it was math. Math was what I wanted to do so I went to college for it and got a degree.”
Miss Engle: “When I was a senior in high school I had a student who was hearing impaired and he absolutely despised art class; he thought he wasn’t good. I was there, in that class as an independent study so I was doing my own thing. Overtime I would help him one on one and he began to actually really like art and I knew that that’s what I really wanted to do, be an art teacher.”
