Student teachers are very popular at Victor High School this time of year. However we never really get to know each and every one of them. This is where things change
Ms. Kingsley is a student teacher this year under the leadership of Mr. Caughlin, a well known English 9 honors teacher and Journalism teacher.
Growing up Ms. Kingsley always wanted to be a teacher. “I’ve literally always wanted to be a teacher…I used to play teacher with my sister…I had a fake desk and whiteboards. I’ve really never considered anything else,” Kingsley says.
Ms. Kingsley grew up at Fulton High school, however she only went there for two years then transferred to Oswego High School.
Originally Ms. Kingsley was planning on attending SUNY Plattsburgh. However, an application to Nazareth was free so she applied. She got in with great scholarships then decided to tour the campus. Just like that she fell in love with the beautiful campus and found that to be her home for the next 4 years.
Ms. Kingsley doesn’t stop there though as she recently just applied to RIT to get her Master’s degree which she needs in order to teach in New York State. She plans to accomplish this by doing night classes.
After this Ms. Kingsley will be certified to teach 7th-12th however she hopes to one day become a professor. However in that time she plans to become a sub for Victor this winter and continue to become a teacher.
To end the interview I asked Ms. Kingsley some questions that many people often wonder about student teachers. The first was what has been the hardest part of this experience. She said it was the fact that she doesn’t get paid. “I work 40 hour weeks at school and then 35 hour weeks at my job so it gets very tiring”.
Ms. Kingsley also works at a coffee shop and a restaurant in order to help pay for her rent, schooling, etc. She also mentions that our long block periods are hard to plan for since she has been teaching with shorter periods in the past. However she loves the challenge!
To follow up with this last question I also asked her what her favorite part of this whole experience is. “I love it. Mr. Caughlin has been amazing at showing me how to do things. I love getting up in front of the class and teaching,” Kingsley also says. “Victor has been so welcoming. The staff and students have been amazing. I really do love the community here and am so happy I got placed here.”
Overall, Ms. Kingsley is just one of the many student teachers in the High School this year so if you see her around continue to make her feel welcome and say hi!
