The CHIEF September 2020

Senior Year Impressions B y : A l a s k a B e n n e t

Ms. Brittney Adams is the new student teacher you might’ve heard about working in Ms. Babb’s room. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and interview her, and I got to learn a little about her interesting story. You wouldn’t have guessed by her ease in the classroom, but Ms. Adams did not always want to be an English teacher. In fact, she didn't want to be a teacher at all in the beginning. Only after a stint as a Taekwondo instructor did she realize her love for teaching. She changed her original major to Elementary Education and began working with small children in the classroom. While her passion for teaching remained, she realized that she was better suited for high school students. She once again changed her major – this time to English education. English, much like teaching, was not always something Ms. Adams was interested in. She didn't like being told what to read and how to interpret it. “In high school … being assigned a text was very disheartening to me.” It wasn’t until her senior year that Ms. Adams found her love for reading. She read the popular book Ready Player One and fell in love with it. The value of a good book was made clear. Now in her final semester of English Education, Ms. Adams is a student teacher in Ms. Babb’s classroom. She couldn't have expected the circumstances regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has given her hope for the future of English classes and how they can be structured. Thankfully, the odd parameters of her job as a teacher during this time have not hindered her love for education. Another large change is that there most likely aren’t going to be any dances this year. This means no Homecoming or pep rally, no Sweetheart, and no Prom. These are all important parts of the senior year since it’s the last time we get to have these events in high school and have them with our friends before going off to college. We are all still hoping that they might happen, but they most likely won’t. But, just like all students here at PTHS, we are trying our best to keep a positive outlook on the whole situation. Student Teacher Interview By Callie Dalton With how the last school year ended, everyone knew that the class of 2021’s senior year was going to be strange and different- if we had one at all. Now with everyone back in class, there are many new changes that we have to adjust to. Some of the main differences are in the school set up itself. No more tables to sit with friends at lunch, no class bigger than eight people, and students are even allowed outside during lunch during the new 10-minute passing periods. Students and teachers also must all wear masks and/or face shields in the building at all times to keep from spreading anything around that could cause cases to appear in the school.