Laura Sporel is a recent graduate from Mount Saint Mary College and is here to teach at Westford Academy. Being a former student of WA, she’s excited to rejoin the great community and contribute as a teacher.
Q: Our source said that you are currently on the Student Support Team, however you are considering becoming a teacher. What do you envision in the next five years for yourself?
A: In the next five years, I imagine myself becoming a full time teacher, hopefully at WA. I am filling in for Ms. Fleck [history teacher], she is on maternity leave. I hope to become a full time teacher in both Special Education and English.
Q: What inspired you to become a teacher?
A: It was actually my teachers here that inspired me to become a teacher. I had a lot of great teachers in history and English. They really helped me as a student and as a person, and I want to help do that for other students.
Q: Which teachers specifically inspired you?
A: There were a few of them, people like Mr. Scully and Mr. Hardy.
Q: What parts of teaching are you most passionate about?
A: I’m most passionate about connecting with the students and helping them learn. [I’ll be] working one-on-one with students to make sure they are understanding the content [along with] making sure they are interested and engaged, and not just having information thrown at them.
Q: Are there any parts of teaching that you struggle with or find difficult?
A: None that I can think of so far, but getting up so early in the morning is difficult.
Q: Is the workload difficult?
A: I don’t think the workload is difficult. It’s kind of what you would expect for teaching classes. There are a lot more emails than I was expecting, [so there is] some kind of email workload I guess.
Q: Is WA the first school you’ve worked at?
A: Yes it is. I just graduated from college in May, so WA is my first job as an official teacher.
Q: What is the impression you have of WA this year? Do you have an impression on the students and classes?
A: I am only working with freshmen and sophomores so I can only really talk to them. But, I’ve noticed they are really hard workers. They seem really engaged and they seem like they really want to interact with the community and be an active member of clubs.
Q: How does WA compare to when you went to school?
A: I actually went to school in WA too, and I graduated in 2018. So, not too much has changed. Some teachers have come and gone, but for the most part WA is still the same with its academic fulfilling classes, great community, and clubs and services.
Q: Is it the same kind of atmosphere among the students and teachers?
A: I think it is for the most part the same kind of atmosphere. I’m just looking at it differently going from a student to a teacher, but I think it’s pretty consistent.
Q: If you were to teach a particular subject, what would it be and what grade would you want to teach?
A: I would probably say an English class. Probably any grade but maybe grades 11 and 12. I think that’s when they get into some really great content. They really dig deep into things. And English was always my favorite subject. So I love teaching.
Q: What class are you subbing for?
A: I’m subbing for history and study skills.
Q: Is there anything else you want the students at WA to know about you?
A: Not that I can think of, I kind of just went to school and came right back. It’s kind of like coming back to the communities that I’m familiar with, and I’m happy I get to work here.
Q: How would you describe yourself to new students who have not met you yet? How would you describe your teaching skills as well?
A: Well I would say, describing me as a teacher and my teaching style, I try to be very communicative. I try to make things as engaging as possible. I know it’s not always super interesting to just have a bunch of notes on a slide, so I try to make things fun. I try to get the kids engaged, and try to be as open and willing to work with students as I possibly can.
Q: Would you say you’ve based your teaching style off of things that didn’t really work for you as a student? Do you try to improve what didn’t work for you?
A: I’d [say] yes and no. For me, a lot of it is seeing what did work for me as a student and trying to apply that same kind of style to help students the way I was helped by teachers. But for the most part, there are some things like trying not to give too many tests or trying to make things as interesting as possible.
