Aspire to Inspire: Why Hop Teachers Chose Teaching

“I decided to become a teacher due to the wonderful teachers that taught me throughout my life....My teachers were incredibly talented, fascinating, pedagogical experts, and truly inspirational...I will always remember my third-year honors Spanish teacher, Professor Ware, who inspired many of us to volunteer with the Amigos de Las Americas program, and who I believe is running an orphanage now in Central America, leaping through the classroom teaching us the lesson on the nuances of direct and indirect object pronouns when both are included in a sentence before a conjugated verb.... Becoming a teacher is a great way to give back and express my gratitude to all the teachers that taught me.” - Josh Brenner, Spanish teacher

“I had a Latin teacher in high school, Mrs. Schall. She was awesome. My senior year, she offered a course in Roman Civilization. With only six students, she decided to turn it into a class where the students did most of the teaching. We did research and prepared lessons for each other. Gaius Marius will always hold a special place in my heart for my first class I taught! I enjoyed the learning it took to make the lesson, and...the challenge of trying to figure out how to make it interesting for my peers.” - Thom Peters, History teacher

“It was a very specific moment. Back in 1979, I was in History 8, and we were having a great conversation. I looked around at what was going on and thought I want to do this always.”- Brad Czepiel, English teacher

“I became a teacher because I always loved school. My mom was a teacher and at home we never had a dull moment: my brothers and I performed science experiments, learned how to play instruments, made arts and crafts, and we read a lot. I think that because my mom treated every day like a new opportunity to learn (and to have fun doing it), she primed me to love school before I ever even stepped foot into a classroom. And once I was school-age, I loved everything about it.” - Anna Robinette, English teacher

“What attracted me to teaching is the strong community feeling created at a school by the students, the teachers and other adults who all have a common purpose and are all engaged in learning about the world and how they interact with it and each other. And, although school is full of routines, I also love that every day is a little different...on most days, I get to deal with new challenges that teach me something new. And...being around kids all day long and seeing them light up when they ‘get it’ is lots of fun!” - Jocelyn Garrity, Head of the Junior School and Math teacher