History teacher Micheal Martell’s classroom feels familiar to Jack Lamy—the rows of desks, the quiet buzz of classmates working, and the current events presentations unfolding at the front of the room. Instead of sitting amongst the students taking notes, Lamy now moves between the desks offering his guidance and answering questions.
Lamy, a 2020 graduate of WA, is completing his student teaching practicum this semester through Fitchburg State University (FSU). Working under Martell, Lamy is gradually transitioning from observer to lead instructor, with the expectation that he will take over three classes on his own by mid-March.
The practicum marks a full-circle moment for Lamy, who once sat in Martell’s honors history class as both a sophomore and senior.
“I had Mr. Martell for my sophomore year and again in senior year, so we had a good relationship. I felt very comfortable with him,” Lamy said. “I knew Mr. Twomey, he was my dean, [so] I felt comfortable with him as a principal, and I knew a lot of the students just from working in the school system.”
Sometimes when a new teacher enters the classroom it can hinder the environment and mood of the class, but according to sophomore Diya Patel, that hasn’t been the case.
“Mr. Lamy has definitely been a very positive presence in our class so far, and there has been a bit more engagement,” Patel said. “[He] communicates with us without the formality of a teacher or an authoritative figure, and […] is truly great at explaining certain material to us.”
According to Lamy, he wasn’t planning on becoming a history teacher when he graduated high school, but instead drew a connection from one of his other passions and career choices: coaching football. After taking a few college classes for teaching, however, he ended up growing a passion for teaching and decided that was the career he wanted to pursue.
“Originally I wanted to coach football and really whatever other sport I [could] get my hands on,” Lamy said. “From that, I got into the idea of teaching. I ended up going to school and taking some classes and liking it.”
Even though Lamy had doubts about which career he wanted to pursue, when he finally decided he wanted to become a teacher, the choice of what to teach was more clear cut. Although WA offers a myriad of different classes, Lamy has, even since middle school, enjoyed one subject the most: history.
“[History] was honestly the only subject I was good at. I wasn’t a good student, I didn’t do incredibly well, [but] I always did pretty good in history […] I was always drawn to it,” Lamy said. “Once I got to college and committed myself a little bit more, I found that I really liked [history], it was definitely the one that stuck out the most to me.”
According to Martell, who has mentored several student teachers during his time at WA, he believes that Lamy, having gone through the Westford Public School System, has a good head start.
“He knows Westford,” Martell said. “He’s probably four or five years older than most of the students, so he’s got a good rapport with the kids, [so] it’s easy to transition.”
Currently, Lamy splits responsibilities with Martell. While Martell leads portions of lessons, Lamy assists with research guidance, small group instruction and occasional full-class activities. He has already designed quizzes and taught lessons that were observed by both Martell and a college evaluator.
“I would say it’s easier to connect with [Lamy] because he went through WPS fairly recently, but I don’t think that is one of the main reasons,” Patel said. “For me, his eagerness to not only teach us, but to work with us as students, really helped me connect with him without so much formality getting in the way.”
While there are a few challenges and obstacles to come with being a student teacher, at the same time, there are a few things that come naturally.
“Talking to students and getting that back and forth connection has come a lot easier than I anticipated,” Lamy said. “There’s at least a handful of students in every class that I feel like I have a good back and forth with.”
According to Martell, acquiring a connection with your students, and fostering it, is an incredibly important part of the job.
“The most important part of teaching doesn’t come from books and doesn’t come from written lesson plans, It comes from making a connection with the kids through the content that you’re supposed to be teaching,” Martell said. “You can write up lesson plans as much as you want, but that stuff doesn’t matter nearly as much as helping your kids get to the end of the year better than they started.”
According to Lamy, one of the most challenging aspects of stepping into the teacher role has been mastering the depth of content that experienced educators naturally bring to their lessons.
“I know a decent amount about history on a bigger scale, but when I have to talk in depth about something, that becomes more difficult,” Lamy said. “The best history teachers have little stories or extra things to throw into a lesson, and I just don’t have a lot of that yet.”
Outside of WA, Lamy gets to be a student again and returns to FSU once a week for a required seminar.
“When I’m [at WA], the other teachers treat me like an adult, like another teacher,” Lamy said. “Going back to Fitchburg and actually being that student again, that now feels weird.”
Lamy’s practicum is expected to conclude in early May, when he will graduate from FSU. But he will begin applying for teaching positions in April when school districts often post openings.
“My time here has been encouraging, I feel like I’m on the right path, and I’m around a lot of people that are helping me get there,” Lamy said. “I’d be interested in [a position at WA] for sure.”
