Teaching in a Pandemic Reflection Series (Byhalia)
Currie McKinley & Jacob Maestri
The following is from an interview with Currie McKinley and Jacob Maestri. They both entered MTC in 2019, and are currently teaching in the Marshall County School District at Byhalia High School.
1. WHAT DREW YOU TO JOIN THE MISSISSIPPI TEACHER CORPS?
Currie: For me, I was working at an independent bookstore up in Boston, and I had this retreat that the bookstore was doing with a group of 8th graders. I read a book I really enjoyed in middle school with them, and I started thinking about teaching. And I was like, “I’m from Mississippi, and there’s this wonderful program in Mississippi.” So it felt meant to be.
Jacob: Mine came from a realization in college that I didn’t want to do what I thought I wanted to do. I got to a point where I realized that I was bored, and I was not ready to sign up for a life of academic work. I wanted to share with other people who weren’t math people, math. Since I was too late to start that in a regular format, I explored alternate route programs. The Mississippi Teacher Corps was one that quickly popped up; but the program also made it clear that they wanted me here. It has been a good place to be.
2. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING LIKE IN MTC?
Jacob: I think the first year was constructive, and I think we were in an environment that left us alone enough to squabble with our problems in a productive way. We joke about what we thought the biggest struggles were last year, and we don’t view them that way anymore. I think we both endured a lot. This had nothing to do with the kids or administration, it’s just a hard year. We started to see the sunshine in March, so it was tough when we didn’t get to finish out the year in that format when we had made so many strides.
Currie: I would say that it was an ideal environment to be a first-year teacher, because we had fairly little oversight. As I grow as a teacher, I want more oversight; but there is something nice about having the freedom to fail. I got to do a lot of trial and error. It was frustrating last year, but it set me up for success this year.
Jacob: Yeah, we’re not very afraid to try things out because of that experience.
Currie: I think we both think we are so lucky to have wound up at the school we’re at too.
3. HOW WAS THIS PAST SUMMER?
Currie: In certain ways, I really enjoyed the summer school process. Getting to focus on the curriculum map part. I had struggled in the past with the behavior management part in productive and unproductive ways, so waiving that portion was a major loss for new first-years. But I found a lot of pleasure in the summer school experience this past year. Especially the mentoring piece of summer school.
Jacob: Yeah, I really loved summer school. First off, it’s just always a pleasure to work with Tracy Craft. She lets you vent, and she is an expert in middle school content. That is something I’ll miss. One thing that was particularly interesting was trying to build relationships with first years in our room and bridging a line to prepare them for what we had no clue about what they were going to see day one. I found myself really struggling at the end of our three weeks of thinking that I prepared them. I do think that a lot more relationship-building happened between teachers and students though. I know middle school math experienced this. Also, because the management wasn’t something that was heavily focused, I think we all came back stronger content-area wise. We were just able to focus on it a lot more.
Currie: Yeah, it felt like the first-years really got a great opportunity to workshop those lessons and scaffold those lessons. We had to time the lessons out. I remember constantly getting through a third of our lessons, and I didn’t see them struggling with that in the same way. I think there were some constraints in the online format that led to better understanding of the content.
4. WHAT HAS THIS FALL SEMESTER BEEN LIKE FOR YOU AS A TEACHER?
Jacob: I think for me it was a matter of seeing how resilient students are. In the pandemic, there is a clear gap. Some students are left behind and some are leaning into the new methods. I think of those students who adjusted really well. So I really appreciated seeing students be resilient in that sense. I’m also just really proud of teachers, especially MTC teachers. We’ve got five now; and seeing how much change we endured last year, it makes me proud of them and what we accomplished. Currie and I are both happy with teacher rapport this year. There's more collaborating this year. I do this with Mr. Che. and it really iss give and take. I’ve been really impressed with the relationships that started last fall.
Currie: I think the gap thing that he mentioned is so, so true. One of the things I noticed was that I had the fortune of teaching ninth grade last year and tenth this year, so I knew those students. And I’d get email after email from them saying this is so overwhelming. Teacher collaboration has become more important. Thinking through these technologies, we’re thinking about what works. This is how you can make this more accessible. This is how you can make this more intuitive, because they’re really overwhelmed.
Jacob: I’d say we’re in a unique position in that we’ve got a completely new administration, so we come into this with more knowledge about actual students. That’s been really helpful when we’re talking as a team - like with Ms. Samonds or Mr. Che. And before you’re like I’m the only one teaching this student, so I’ll figure it out on my own.
5. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES (THE OVERALL COMMUNITY) DURING THIS TIME?
Jacob: I think the pandemic has taken us into students’ homes a lot quicker. Because we only have four instructional days, we naively thought something would happen at home. It was a difficult thing to realize that I could send homework home, and the student would let me know that the second they got home they had to do all of these things before 10 PM at night. So I’ve learned a lot about what it looks like for them when they go home. It may mean taking care of a sibling until a parent gets home. There’s a certain humility we had to take on when a parent gets home. You realize there are bigger things going on than just the video I assigned. That’s been a really important way that we’ve been launched in students’ homes. We were always told to just make them go home.
Currie: It’s strained in a lot of ways, because we’re learning how learning at home isn’t necessarily conducive to their learning. Another thing that’s frustrating to me - school is also a safe spot for some kids, and now they’re at home fully virtual. There’s not a lot I can do about that as a teacher. It’s a strange thing to know that I don’t have access to that. It’ll also be a strange reminder what a privilege it is to have those kids in person.
6. WHO HAVE YOU LEANED ON FOR SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME?
Currie: People in my cohort primarily. I go to Langley and Jack Fredericks. They are going through similar things both in teaching, and it’s just a uniquely difficult time. A lot of times I just need support as a person. I feel really lucky to be in a cohort with people going through similar things. I’m grateful to have those peers.
Jacob: I’d agree. The first year was a lot of separating needing help as a teacher nad needing help as a person. I’m thankful that I don’t have to do both during this pandemic. I lean on my family a lot - my dad and my sister. I enjoy how they don’t know a lot about teaching. When I tell them what happened, they’re always shocked and awed. It’s nice because it reminds me how unique what we do is as teachers. There’s also a fresh perspective when I talk with Kennedy, since they (Holly Springs) are normally doing something different. So it’s nice to have an insider to go to as well.
Currie: I also want to throw out gratitude to therapists. The other pillar. Ha!
7. WHAT HAS BEEN ONE UNEXPECTED SILVER LINING ABOUT TEACHING THIS SEMESTER?
Currie: Teaching a smaller number of students gave me the ability to work on my content so much more. I’ve developed these resources that I just love, and I will use them in future years. When you’re so focused on managing, it can be hard to focus on building really good materials. And once you’ve developed really good materials, it makes your management so much easier. As my classes have grown this year, having the materials, it’s helped me so much.
Jacob: I’ve got to say that mine is the same. A couple pressure points have been relieved. State testing has been paused. Some students are learning from home. We have smaller class sizes. I’m growing tremendously in pedagogy and trying out new materials. I’m so glad this has been a year to improve as an instructional leader as opposed to just a manager. Maybe there is something more to life than just creating something and asking them to mimic what I just did. We’re giving them an opportunity to be a co-creator of the material. I don’t think I would have discovered those things if it hadn’t been for the extra time.
Currie: Yeah, instructional methods - it’s like this buzz word right now for Jacob. Yeah, I think about my entrance essay that I wrote in MTC about the idea of a trellis that little vines can go up, and they naturally go up. Having good content and having them go to it. That’s the job I want to have. I don’t want to have a job where I open a brain and put little knowledge modules in it. I want to watch kids grow to it.
8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A PART OF THE BYHALIA COMMUNITY?
Jacob: The donut shop?
Currie: Ha! Yeah, and the fried chicken from the gas station.
Jacob: Haha. It’s so bad for me, but it’s so good. Yeah, but it’s those little things that we’ve finally had time to do.
Currie: Yeah, there’s this knock-off subway and there’s this woman who works behind the counter who is like the nicest person on the planet.
Jacob: She knows we’re teachers and that we keep that place in business, so she’s so nice to us. But one of the most beautiful things about Byhalia is how diverse a place it is. That’s something I always look for in a place from here on out. I have students who come into my classroom knowing different languages. That diversity adds to my classroom in so many ways. I think when I heard that was the demographic breakdown coming in, it made me concerned that there may be clicks that emerge. But instead, they have shown me how beautiful their diversity is - it’s a rare opportunity for MTC teachers, and it’s one of the beautiful things about Byhalia.
Currie: Yes, absolutely. The makeup of the student body reflects so many walks of life, and the way they integrate is so interesting and dynamic and makes for an interesting learning environment. Having to rely so heavily on prior knowledge, they are bringing so many different kinds of prior knowledge to class. Wherever I wind up as a teacher in the future, this is something I want. Oh, and I also think it’s funny to see kids up in Memphis or in Holly Springs at the store or a restaurant - it’s a rare and special thing when it actually feels like community.