Here at Lower Merion, we get dozens of student teachers—college students studying to become a teacher who, as a part of their training, supervises classroom instructions—every year. In this Q&A, we get to know more about some of your student teachers, as well as their experiences in the classroom.
Mr. Keegan
Mr. Keegan is a student at Saint Joseph’s University, where he completed his undergraduate studies and is now studying for his Masters.
Q: How long have you been at LM, and how long will you be staying for?
A: I started observing in September and started taking over classes, working with Dr. Mays and Ms. Dyson in February.
Q: What’s our opinion on LM students?
A: It’s been great. I’ve learned so much from the students already. You all have a lot of potential and it’s clear in the way you all talk about what we learn in class, like social justice and elements of oppression.
Q:If there was something you could change in LM, what would it be?
A: I think students are very focused on grades here. And that’s not a bad thing. But I think that they forget that school isn’t to get a good grade.
Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve heard in a classroom?
A: People have said I look like a try guy. I look like Robby Shapiro from Victorious, and I’ve been called Sir. Yapps a lot which I thought was funny.
Q: What’s a message you’d like to leave for Mr. Mays?
A: I think he’s excellent. I want to thank him for always coming prepared. But sometimes there are moments where you just rip your pants, and it’s okay to just laugh at it—he’ll know what that means.
Q: What’s something you see HS students do now that kids didn’t do back in your time.
A: I graduated high school in 2020, so my senior year was cut short due to Covid. Nowadays I see a lot of students using AI. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I think it’s important to think for yourselves.
Q: If there was something you could change in LM, what would it be?
A: I think students are very focused on grades here, which is not a bad thing, but I think that they forget that school isn’t here to get good grades but teach you important lessons and tools you’ll use in life, like being a good friend and person. The second thing is that sometimes students forget to be kids and you don’t want to be 30, 40, 50, looking back at what you didn’t get to do in life because you were just focused on a grade. Take risks because you have a safety net to catch you, but be safe.
Ms. Ramirez
Ms. Ramirez is a student at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Temple University. She was born in New Jersey and, at 10 years old, moved to PA.
Q: Were you assigned to work in LM or did you choose to be here?
A: It was a little bit of both. I had the option to be here and had to go through the process. A lot of my classmates were placed but I had to apply.
Q: If you had the chance, would you come back to LM?
A: Oh for sure. I’d work here full time if I could.
Q: How long have you been at LM, and how long will you be staying for?
A: I’ve been here since the middle of January and I’ll be here till May 2nd.
Q: What’s our opinion on LM students?
A: I really like the culture here and feel like it’s not too cliquey. You see groups of people in the hallway that are friends but for the most part everyone talks to each other. It’s not like a toxic high school environment. The students that I’ve had in my classes I think are very generous people and polite.
Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve heard in a classroom?
A: There was this student that told us that when he was in 7th grade he had a girlfriend that was in high school. And I was like that’s alarming. The second craziest thing was a student telling me that I waddle when I walk and that was a crazy thing to point out. It was kinda funny though because now when I walk I acknowledge it and sway while I walk.
Q: If there was something you could change in LM, what would it be?
A: I’m not sure. I guess I wish the arts were seen as more equal like with gen-ed and all. Like in the level o f importance I feel like art goes after, in every school not just here.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in LM?
A: I like making the prep stuff for the classes that I teach. I get to be alone and imagine how the lesson is going to go. I also like the office things they do for staff. There’s this thing called Oreo madness. We got emails about voting for the best Oreo. It was goofy but cute.
Q: What form of art do you do specifically?
A: I mostly work with 2-D and ceramics, that’s like drawing and painting. I’m getting more into working with things that are 3-D. There’s one thing that I love but probably wouldn’t teach, and that’s book structure, making books, and hand sewing them.
Q: What’s your least favorite form of art?
A: Digital. Anything digital. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, it’s not just for me.
Q: What’s a message you’d like to leave for Mr. Hazel?
A: Probably that he’s one of the best mentors that I’ve had. I feel like I’ve learned more from Mr. Hazel these few weeks than I have in my degree.
Mr. Cole
Mr. Cole is an Oregon native and a student at Villanova University.
Q: How long have you been at LM, and how long will you be staying for?
A: I started my observations in January, and then I started taking over my first class in mid February and I’ll be here till the end of the year.
Q: Were you assigned to work in LM or did you choose to be here?
A: I filled out a survey that matched me with my preferences.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in PA?
A: I’m a history geek so I love checking out historical sites. I enjoy exploring the city, trying new food, and having new experiences.
Q: What form of art do you do specifically?
A: I love the interactions I’ve had with students. Having the experience of student teaching has been tremendous. Being in front of the classroom has been my favorite thing
Q: What’s our opinion on LM students?
A: I think they’re fantastic and I think having seniors at this stage has been interesting. You never get this time back and being able to have this impact where they are now before they go away has been tremendous.
Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve heard in a classroom?
A: The classroom is always crazy, and that’s what keeps it interesting. It’d be hard to put down any one thing that has happened.
Q: What’s something you see hs students do now that kids didn’t do back in your time.
A: I don’t see much of a difference, and the biggest change I would say is that I didn’t have this experience of the last few months of school, because of Covid. And I didn’t see senioritis kick in.
Q: If there was something you could change in LM, what would it be?
A: I love my classroom, but the stairs up here are brutal. It keeps me honest every morning.
Q: What’s a message you’d like to leave for your mentor ?
A: I love my experience, and the autonomy I’ve been given has been tremendous. Also the support from Ms. Dolente. I wouldn’t want to change anything, I have only positive things to say. I have the space to change something, or the leeway to do another activity. Not everyone gets to have that experience.
Ms. Rhee
A New Jersey native, Ms. Rhee is currently studying at Villanova University, with a double major in English and Communications. She’s currently pursuing her Masters and teacher certification.
Q: How long have you been at LM, and how long will you be staying for?
A: I started my observations in January, and I’ll be here through mid May.
Q: Were you assigned to work in LM or did you choose to be here?
A: I filled out a survey that matched me with my preferences.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in PA?
A: I love this area and think it’s great how it’s close to everything. I’m a big foodie so I love trying new places. SO many good choices in Philly and Lancaster Avenue.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about LM?
A: I’m split between 9th and 10th grade, working with Mrs. Hemler and Ms. McCloy I teach honors with both of them, and my favorite thing is coming to work everyday. They constantly impress me everyday. Whenever I give them a new challenge, they are always ready to meet it, and exceed it, and Question me back. I’m always learning new things from them.
Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve heard in a classroom?
A: A student asked me if we could start class later because the new Carti album dropped. He was like, “I’ve waited so long,” and I was like “okay you can wait until lunch.”
Q: What’s our opinion on LM students?
A: I think the students here are awesome and well rounded.
Q: Would you come back to work at LM?
A: Yeah totally. I think it’s a great place to work. I enjoy how there are so many class options, which I didn’t have in my high school.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in LM?
A: My favorite thing to do is coming to teach. I’ve been learning so much about teaching, about classroom management, and just trying to use my modern pop culture references to get students excited about books.
Q: Why do you choose to teach?
A: I come from a long line of teachers—both my parents, and both of my grandparents were elementary teachers—so teaching is in my blood. I also love getting to work with kids and getting to see that aha moment when something clicks. I, personally, love connecting books to modern songs and films. It’s exciting to be able to make some old units new again.
Q: What’s something you see HS students do now that kids didn’t do back in your time.
A: One thing that blows my mind is AI in general. I graduated in 2020 and we didn’t use ChatGPT. It wasn’t a thing, or if it was we just didn’t know about it yet. I think it’s crazy how people turn to it as their first option to brainstorm things when I think everybody has so much creativity on their own.
Q: What’s your favorite book and why?
A: I’m about to teach House on Mango Street, which is coincidentally my favorite book. I started reading it my sophomore year in High School and now I’ll be teaching it to sophomores in High School. It’s very poetic and I love to write and read poetry.
Q: What’s a message you’d like to leave for your mentors?
A: Both of my mentor teachers have been wonderful. They’ve been really helpful with guiding me, with the right balance of what we did in the past and willing to let me try out new things in the classroom. I’m very grateful for both of them and being about to try out two perspectives.
