Every day, we walk in and out of their classrooms. Every day, we talk to them––but only about grades, about assignments, and about extensions. Have any of us ever stopped and wondered: who is my teacher, really? Here, the focus is on who our teachers really are, both inside AND outside of school.
The very first interview was conducted with Ms. Patrice Parks, English teacher who teaches IB Lang/Lit and Innovation Institute English for freshmen. Below are the questions we asked and the answers she responded with.
Q: Where were you born and raised?
A: I was born in Minnesota, United States. I grew up there. My mother’s family had actually lived there since the 1870s!
Q: When did you become a teacher, and what caused you to make that decision?
A: I became a teacher quite late, at age 40. Prior to becoming a teacher, I was an actress and I sometimes taught creative dramatics to younger children. However, it was tough making a living as an actress. On top of the need to make more money, my friend was always bugging me to become a teacher.
Q: Was it easy to transition from actress to teacher?
A: Well, at the very beginning, it was exhausting. I was offered a job before I achieved my teacher credentials. The very first day, after I got back home, I cried because it was absolutely exhausting. I remember my son encouraged me to continue teaching despite the difficulties. The second day, I fell in love with teaching, and I have loved it ever since.
Q: When did you join the SAS community? Where did you teach before moving to SAS?
A: I took this job at SAS in 2013. This is my third year here. Before teaching at SAS, I taught at Salinas High School in Salinas, California. That was my first job teaching high school. Before that, I was part of an organization called Professional Artists in Schools, which is a group of musicians, visual artists, performing artists, etc., who taught elementary school children.
Q: Why do you love teaching? What do you think defines you as a teacher?
A: It’s very important for me as a person to feel like I have a mission in life. I realized that when I taught at Salinas, [that] people had difficult home lives, as it was a very poor community. It was extremely gratifying for me to discover I could take joy in another person’s success, so that became my teaching mission. The students there really needed me. When I left, a lot of people asked me how I could possibly leave my students behind, as SAS has children who come from families with high-income and, in their opinions, did not need my help as much. My response was that every young person deserves dedicated, well-educated, and caring teachers. Every student deserves someone who wants to be there to teach, and every student is worth being part of a mission. Students at SAS do not need it any less––it is my mission to create success.
Q: Ending on a light note: what are some of your favorite pastimes?
A: I love to take morning walks (I wake up early, at around 4:30-5), I take art classes, I love painting and drawing, reading, having coffee with friends, and having lighthearted, intellectual discussions.
Vivian Zhou