FRISCO, TEXAS — Centennial High School has plenty of staff, who have been here for over a decade, or a couple of years. Regardless of their time spent on campus, they deserve to be recognized for their hard work with the students here at Centennial.
Mrs.Lybbert teaches AP Language and Composition this year, a class taught to Juniors all over the country.
To get to know Mrs.Lybbert, I sat down and had a conversation with her about her teaching experience, hopes for this year, hobbies, and anything else she had to say about teaching or her life in general.
I started with asking Mrs.Lybbert where she went to college, and what she studied in her time there.
“I went to college at Chico State University in California, and studied Liberal Studies and Early Childhood Development,” she said.
I asked about how long she had been teaching, and where, “I started teaching in 2013, in Southern California, in Riverside, I started off teaching sophomores and seniors, I’ve taught publication, yearbook, journalism, photography, all levels of english, expository writing and opinion pieces,” she said.
Mrs.Lybbert was excited to teach a new subject this year, and I asked what she was most excited about.
“Working with juniors again, they’re like small grown ups, I like the atmosphere of teaching juniors, they know how to ask questions, they are a lot less shy, more real, and honest,” Mrs.Lybbert said.
Every teacher has goals they want their students to reach, either academic, personal, or both.
“I hope the kids do well on their AP exam, and have a good time in my class in general. I like making school enjoyable for all students no matter where they are in life or if they even like coming to class or not, I want them to look back and say they had a good time in that class and high school, I want them to feel supported through their learning,” she said.
“I want to make sure students have the best possible experience while they’re at school, that they are better off having taken my class, build self esteem, and taking something that’s worth it and helpful from it,” she added.
Outside of school, teachers are busy with their own fulfilling lives, families, and hobbies.
“I’m a crafter, I make jewelry, I like to video edit, and spend as much time as I can with my kids, since they grow up so fast,” Mrs.Lybbert explained.
In the same way many students have favorite subjects to learn, teachers have favorite subjects to teach.
“I’m excited to teach some of the topics that talk about the things they need to be thinking about when they leave high school as adults, I want them to leave free thinkers and not be afraid to speak up about the things important to them.”
Sometimes teachers feel there is something lacking in the class, the same way students do.
“I would bring anchor texts back, allow kids to read books in class, allow more freedom to students, as anchor texts are books teachers are allowed to assign and let kids read in class.”
Sometimes we struggle, and sometimes things go smoothly in class, and just like us, teachers struggle sometimes.
“Interacting with students is the easiest part of teaching, I can get along with anybody, any personality, students make everything better, but the most difficult thing is that teaching has become so political, it’s on this political forefront and because of that we have lots of restrictions, and it is different, because I come from a state where teachers have more autonomy,” Mrs.Lybbert said.
Teachers are human, and they have their own thoughts and feelings about life and the world around them, inside and outside of the classroom.
“Teachers are people too, we have families and lives outside of the classroom, we work tirelessly to provide the best experience with the restrictions placed on us, we’re not here because of the paycheck, we’re here because of the students,” she said.
Mrs.Lybbert started teaching AP Language and Composition for all juniors this year, and is excited to do so.
