TC teacher Mrs. Nguyen talks about some of the difficulties and rewards in teaching high school English.
TC teacher Mrs. Nguyen talks about some of the difficulties and rewards in teaching high school English.

English is one of those things that is vital to our everyday life. Thanks to the English teachers we have here at Timber Creek, we are able to improve, learn, and grow in our writing and reading. Mrs. Nguyen, who teaches English II Pre-AP, explained why she decided to teach.

“I teach because of the kids. I really love my students and I like to see them successful,” Nguyen said. “So that’s what drives me to come to work everyday because I really do feel that as a teacher, you really help to shape the future and so I feel very strongly about that and so that’s why I do what I do.”

Since this is her first year, we asked her to compare her old school and Timber Creek.

“They both have their positives and their draw backs because any school does. But I found at the end of the day whether I’m teaching here or any other school, students are students, and they still have the same need to be taught, they still have the same need to be loved.” She said.

This year, all the English teachers got together to come up with a plan to give their students a better education.

“The most important part of this year is meeting students where they’re at and get them prepared for the End of Course exam or for AP English or whatever else will be on their future for next year,” Nguyen said.

Her goal to impact her students has been successful, as Nate Rice says that her teaching has changed his outlook on reading and writing. “I enjoy reading more, discussing topics and revising and editing.”

To do such a good job does not come without stress. The only EOC that the sophomores have to take is English and with that comes Open Ended Responses, more commonly known as OER’s, reading passages and writing passages. Along with that, teachers have to prepare them for future English classes, particularly AP.

“The hardest part about teaching tenth grade in general is just the EOC test, it’s very stressful. Every year, [we] get students prepared and making sure that we’re hitting all the material we need to hit before the test, that’s always stressful.” Mrs. Nguyen explains.

The district is on top of things to make sure that students get the best education and she explains to me that the district wants to make sure that the teachers are meeting the requirements each year. The teachers work hard to revise their plans based on what they are good at and what they struggle with to meet the requirements.

However, she enjoys her job very much and she explains that while the EOC is not her favorite thing, there is the whole new dynamic here at Timber Creek that the students present to her.

“This is my first year at Timber Creek and so it’s been a lot of fun getting to learn a new culture of students, getting to know my students has been the best part.”

She is excited to finish this year out with us as she explains that she is looking forward to reading each book with us, diving deeper to where we can find meanings that may not be shown on the surface. She understands that English is not everyone’s strength and she says that the best thing a student can do is get any help where they need it. It just might do wonders.

“If you’re struggling with writing, and your teacher has gone over something and you’re still not understanding why you’re scoring low, don’t hesitate to go see that teacher and get some additional help with that.” She says.

Mrs. Nguyen has poured her heart into this job and looks forward to continuing her work and impacting the students that she loves.