Spanish teacher Jennifer Shaw made a big change in October: she decided to uproot her life and come to CHS. Not just CHS though, Shaw is making the move to Pathways as well. Shaw has been a Spanish teacher for over 21 years, and said she is definitely used to some change and is ready for some more change and challenges.
Shaw has taught at several schools, starting her career at the age of 21 when she took a small teaching job in Jackson country. She then moved to South Carolina (teaching at Greenville high school). Finally, she taught at Plainwell before finally settling down at Tappan to teach Spanish to sixth, seventh, and eight graders for 14 years.
For Shaw, however, the decision to teach Spanish wasn’t always clear. It took her until college to figure out what she really wanted to do.
“Originally, the plan was to teach elementary school, but it turns out that that wasn’t at all what I wanted to do,” Shaw said. “I actually wanted to teach English but I started student-teaching Spanish and I just fell in love with it.”
After 14 years at Tappan Middle School, Shaw decided that she was ready for a new adventure. She wanted a challenge, a faster pace and a new journey.
“I just felt like I was ready for a move, and I wasn’t sure what kind of move I was ready for, but I was ready for one. I needed a change of pace for one thing: the way that the schedule is set up at middle school, I have so many kids and the classes are so short. I just felt like I didn’t really get to know kids anymore,” Shaw said. “It was like running on a treadmill forever.”
Shaw wasn’t really drawn to any of the big high schools in Ann Arbor — Pioneer, Huron or Skyline — but she was always drawn to CHS and when the opportunity came up, she took it.
“My first two days have been really relaxed and there have definitely been a lot of changes. I’m not used to teaching in a 100 minute block. It’s really different from middle school, because, in middle school it is mostly behavior management and the kids are going through an adjustment period,” Shaw said. “It’s a very big shift, but I like it, I can see really liking it even more once I have settled in.”
The biggest challenge for Shaw doesn’t come from being in a new school; the hardest part for her is leaving her peers and students at Tappan.
“I really did like Tappan. I loved my principal, I had wonderful colleagues, had my own classroom, and I was really comfortable there,” Shaw said. “It’s sad. It’s also kind of surreal too. This morning I started driving to Tappan, because I’ve been doing it without thinking about it for 14 years. It’s just really different.”
Even more surreal for Shaw is that she is now teaching students that she had several years ago.
“While they are three years older, I still see the kids that were in middle school, but they seem like more mature versions of themselves,” Shaw said. “They’re more happy with their spot. It’s really nice to see kids grow in their confidence and feel comfortable where they’re at.”
The cherry on top for Shaw is working with one of her best friends: Laurel Landrum, the other Spanish teacher at CHS.
“It’s nice to have somebody to collaborate with, because I’m used to being the only Spanish teacher in my building. I was trying to think of how to do something there, and she had the answer,” Shaw said. “It is truly a dream being able to work here.”
