Charlotte Gaynor ’20 is in her first year of teaching 7th grade Life Science at Kelly Miller Middle School in Washington, DC. Charlotte graduated from GW with a major in Neuroscience and minors in Mathematics and STEM Teaching. In addition to completing the STEM Teaching minor, Charlotte enrolled in Apprentice Teaching (GTCH 4000) during her senior year, which is the capstone internship that made her eligible for 7-12 biology teacher licensure upon graduation. Charlotte is also now certified in 7-12 General Sciences, which she was eligible for through passing an additional competency-based exam.
We had a chance to catch up with Ms. Gaynor recently who took time to share insights on her first-year of teaching, reflect on her favorite memories from the GWTeach program, and share words of wisdom with current GWTeach students.
When asked what was going well in her first year of teaching, Ms. Gaynor said, “I have some really awesome relationships with my students and it’s pretty cool seeing how excited they are to come to my classroom every day, even if they just want to say ‘hi’ because they don’t see me in class that day.”
Is there anything you’ve had to adapt to while teaching during the pandemic? Ms. Gaynor said, “I honestly didn’t realize how much wearing a mask dampens the volume of my voice and that’s been a bit of a strain. Otherwise, the pandemic hasn’t been a huge issue, besides students being out and helping them to make up work when they return.”
When asked about goals and hopes for her future teaching, Ms. Gaynor shared that she is always looking to improve classroom management. She added that she’s “hoping to keep enjoying what I do and not get overwhelmed.”
Charlotte also recalled many great memories from her time in GWTeach and spending a lot of time hanging around with people in the GWTeach Office. “I really loved my Step 1 class,” Charlotte recalls, which is now GTCH 2003, “and I have some awesome memories from teaching at Janney Elementary.” Charlotte recalled a touching moment working with a student with learning differences who was overjoyed to participate in the lesson she was implementing. She recalls, “It was such an amazing experience to see a student change their entire demeanor and get so excited about math. I was also really lucky that I had such amazing teaching partners that semester.”
In thinking about what advice she would offer to current GWTeach students, Charlotte emphasized the importance of lesson planning and thinking through all aspects of a lesson to ensure that you, as the teacher, are making instructions clear, in order to make the lesson implementation efficient and effective. She also shared the importance to have fun with teaching. She said, “At the end of the day, students may not remember what you taught them, but the experience of teaching and of learning is so much more important than the actual content.” Charlotte encourages GWTeach students to work on building strong relationships with students and to start practicing this during Apprentice Teaching. She suggests that you can “show up to their sporting events or their art show or whatever their ‘thing’ is, because that little moment shows them you care and that can literally change a student’s attitude so much in your classroom.”
Lastly, we asked Charlotte what she would tell current GWTeach students who are on the fence about pursuing teacher licensure, as she once was. Charlotte said, “I know that feeling and you can ask anyone in the office. Teaching is tiring and it can be frustrating sometimes and there will be students who get on your nerves, but it’s so rewarding and funny.” Charlotte went on to emphasize the importance of finding a school community where you feel supported. She said, “the community of teachers and staff are so supportive that even when you feel like your day or week isn’t going well, there’s always someone across the hall coming in with some candy to check in on you and remind you why you chose teaching. It’s definitely worth it. I have so many students that are like my own kids even 3 months into the school year and they are the reason I show up every day.”
GWTeach is proud of Ms. Gaynor as she navigates her first year of teaching and pursues her commitment to ensuring a high-quality STEM education for all students. Keep up the great work, Ms. Gaynor!