Not a lot of people get credit for the things that they do. For example,  someone could just sit there and openly listen to you, give some advice to help- even just helping you realize that you’re human or showing you that you do have a place in this world. Not many people receive a thank you, especially teachers.

Here at Pitman, we like to show our respects and regards by saying thank you to those people, especially to the teachers that put us before them. Even the ones that have made the most impact to those of our lives, our fellow peers, and to the Pitman community.

The teachers at Pitman have given their insight into what their interest is, as in helping the Pitman community. When asking students to whom has left such an impact to their lives these teachers came to mind. Either out of their early arrival or mid entrance of High School, these are the ones no one will ever truly forget.

High School Drama (9-12) Teacher Mrs. McBay gives her insight as to what her interest is when helping the students and the community of Pitman.

“I feel that not just with Drama, but in general with teenagers a lot of times people don’t have that space when they can just come and be real and who they really are, to not be judged but just think through their issues, to have somebody be a natural springboard for them to get some feedback and advice. Also, with Drama it’s just a lot more of a family atmosphere, it is very much about coming together and understanding each other and having chemistry. That’s very important. Overall, just having respect for each other and that just understanding having respect for each other goes along way.”

Asked if given a good perception seeing others emotions and knowing that they’ve made a change/difference to the students and the community, English (9) Teacher Mrs. Insell had described her emotions as into what her perception exactly was.

“It does give me a good perception, it makes my heart smile. I came into this profession because I wanted to make a change at least in one student’s life and if I could do that at least once then my dream has been fulfilled and that makes me really happy.”

High School English(10)/Journalism Teacher Ms. Perino has not just seen this as a one way street to having had only helped her students grow but also herself.

“It would be unrealistic for me to say ‘No everything I do is only for other people.’ No it’s because I learn from students too. It’s for my betterment as well. For me, I feel that teaching is a two-way street, I learn from my students just like they learn from me. I learn from where my faults are because I have faults, but I also learn what my strengths are too. So I feel like it would be unrealistic for me to say ‘Oh no I just do it for the students,’ when I do it for myself too.”

When asked High School English (9) Teacher Mrs. Hall if she believed that she has improved others self morale in the Pitman community, this is what had came to mind.

“Yes, I hope that I have improved students’ self morale- I have quite a few students that do come to me when in need. It is my goal to openly listen and to help if I can. Although I do not like seeing anyone upset, I do see that students feel comfortable enough to share both their joys and struggles with me. I hope that the experience students do have in my classroom is indeed a positive one, where they can feel comfortable and safe.”

High School Science (9-12) Teacher Mr. Hofsteen believes that truly the best part of all this comes with life environmentally and our Pitman community itself, he describes what he feels.

“I feel very passionate, as well as with the environment as a whole with just the research and the studies that I’ve done in the background. I feel that when I teach, I’m not just throwing out some subject matter it’s actually something that I really care about as a whole. Now with the Pitman garden, it’s hands-on and I think that it’s kind of great for students to just get out and apply information they know using that hands-on experience.”

When lastly asked High School Mathematics (12) Teacher Dr. Staley if there should be any changes made to the Pitman Community or if she’d like to see any further improvements, this is what came to mind.

“There is always room for improvement, always. One of the things that I do care about a lot is that students are channeled into the right direction for them. In life there are only a few kids that get enough help to choose the right college and the right major. We need to expose kids to many more options so they can make better decisions. It is so difficult nowadays that so many kids are very unsure about where they fit so they need more adults to figure it out.”

Even with this being said over and over, we thank all Pitman teachers for the great impact that they have such made upon our lives. With great guidance they of all deserve a thanks for doing things that have truly made a mark on everyone on the Pitman campus.