Madeline Allen
Reporting by Mi Nguyen
Photos by Madeline Allen
Jane Woodman (AP English Lit & English 1)
What made you choose your subject?
When I decided to get my teaching credential, I couldn’t [pick] between English and music. I ended up just choosing music [but] then the school where I started teaching didn’t have a music opening. But they wanted me and I wanted to be at the school. I studied English in college, so I was able to get a secondary credential pretty quickly and they hired me to teach English [and] I taught English and music for a really long time.
What is your favorite teaching memory?
[In] Band, we were playing The Nutcracker. We had arranged with the stage crew to drop fake snow during the Waltz of the Flowers part. But they accidentally released the snow [early, so] we had eight minutes of snow falling and piling up on the cymbals, getting in everyone’s hair and everyone was just cracking up. In English, one of my favorite memories was when we were finishing up Macbeth and we put together a Garage Band soundtrack to play as we read the final act. Everybody was very dramatic in their reading, so it was a really fun way to end the play.
Brandt Bridges (English 1AS & 2)
What made you want to become a teacher?
My first job was as a math tutor at Mathnasium when I was 15 years old, the same age as [the] sophomores [I teach now]. That was the first moment I noticed I loved teaching. In college, I worked in the writing center at Oregon State, and [it] was fun to help people with things like poetry classes, but also [work with] physics and Ph.D. [students]. Then I taught for a year in Spain after college, and that’s when I was like, “Oh, this is awesome! This is a lot of fun, because teaching is really hard and it takes a lot of work, but it’s also really satisfying.’”
What made you choose your subject?
I always loved the sciences, but my sophomore English teacher was amazing. She was really cool, and it was the first time I felt like I wasn’t just trying to be a good student and get good grades. I really wanted to understand the books and what was going on … they really changed my life. So I studied English in college and ever since that point in high school, I’ve been a reader and writer. I’ve always loved the kind of stuff we get to talk about in English class too, it’s a really cool place.
Jonathan Huang (Ceramics, Adv Ceramics & AP Studio Art 3D)
What made you become a teacher?
I went to Gunn High School and my [ceramics] teacher’s name was Mr. Cooper. I could not throw on the wheel, but … I practiced every day and Mr. Cooper saw that. He asked me to do the demo for the class, and I was shocked. He never asked anybody else to do it. That was one of the very first teaching opportunities and that guy changed my life because now, I’m a high school ceramics teacher.
What do you want students to know about you?
I want them to know that I’m here for them. I want them to have a breakthrough and when they do, it’s dope. It’s hard to explain it if you haven’t experienced it. The interesting thing about ceramics is that it’s so tangible — it’s so physical. So when you have a breakthrough … you’re reminded by this object. And that’s really satisfying.
Chiaki Vanasupa (Japanese 1, 2, 3 & 4H)
What made you choose your subject?
I always feel joy when teaching Japanese. When I hear more and more students speaking Japanese and see students enjoying learning and using Japanese, it’s my joy.
What do you want students to know about you?
I grew up and was educated in different countries, not in Japan. I really love multicultural lingo. I enjoy a mix of different cultures and backgrounds. I feel really comfortable, like I’m in this community, and it makes my class fun. I was born in Belgium, and grew up in Brazil, and I lived in the UK.
