LOS ALAMITOS, CA — With the start of the new school year being two weeks in, returning students and teachers are getting back into the swing of school once more. Additionally, the 2023-2024 school year has brought new staff on campus. Los Al is lucky to have Ms. Eilers, Ms. Nagami, and Mrs. Berthon, as new additions to the faculty.

The following interviews have been edited and condensed.

Ms. Eilers, English teacher

Question: What made you want to be a teacher?

Answer: My brother struggled in school when he was young, and I often noticed how teachers were dismissive toward his needs. I wanted to be a teacher to provide a better experience for students like him. I also coached cheer for a number of years, and I really enjoyed working with the high school age group. Plus, I get to talk about literature all day, so it was an obvious choice for me!

Q: Tell us a little about your background.

A: I’m originally from a small beach town called Morro Bay. I moved to Southern California for college and have called it home for the past four years. I pursued a degree in English from Cal State Fullerton and obtained my teaching credential from there as well. I love working with students and sharing my favorite things about English with them!

Q: Is this your first teaching position?

A: This is my first official teaching position. I did my student teaching last year at La Habra High School and also taught summer school over there.

Q: Have you ever taught any other subjects or any other grade levels?

A: I taught sophomores last year, and I currently teach freshmen and juniors. I haven’t taught any subjects outside of English, but I would love to teach a creative writing elective someday.

Q: What is one of your favorite lessons that you have taught/are going to teach?

A: I really enjoy teaching “The Great Gatsby” and am looking forward to teaching it again this year. One of my favorite things to do while reading this novel is to focus on characterization. To do this, I have my students create a “What’s on Gatsby’s phone?” template, in which they think about the music playlists, apps, and texts the characters would have on their cellphones. Students always come up with creative ideas that I had never thought of before.

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: Wow, there are so many to choose from. I’ll give you my top three. I love ‘The Waves” by Virginia Woolf, “The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline, and “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernadine Evaristo.

Ms. Nagami, English teacher

Q: Is this your first time teaching?

A: I’ve been teaching for many years. I think it’s been about 16 years now. I’ve taught at the college level, I’ve taught at Northeastern University, University of Arizona, and UCLA most recently. I’ve also taught at charter schools and private schools. I was in Santa Ana last school year.

Q Is there anything in particular that you like about teaching high schoolers?

A: I like the depth of thinking and amount of self-reflection that we can do. That’s what I’m looking forward to with my high schoolers.

Q: Is teaching high schoolers different from teaching college students? Is there a big difference?

A: Honestly, I treat my high schoolers like they’re college students. I want to give them that same level of freedom. I like to give a lot of options when I give assignments. As a teacher, I feel like the main difference is class size. I’m struggling a little bit at the beginning of the year; I’m trying to learn everybody’s names. There are so many students, but I’m trying really hard. That’s why I give [students] all these “Getting to know you” activities.

I don’t know if they seem silly or how they seem to the students, but for me I’m really getting a sense of who I’m teaching, so that I can understand [the students] and [their] values and [their] background. All that will help me teach [them] better. But I think that’s going to take a little more time than it usually would if I’m teaching a smaller class.

Q: How was your first week here at the high school?

A: I feel like it was very beautiful and uplifting. I came in with some different ideas than usual. I usually feel like on my first day of class I talk about what the class is about, and maybe make some classroom norms, but this year I tried to make it a bit more exciting. I’m actually going to put out a survey to get some feedback from the students because I want to know how it went for them. We did “Getting to know you bingo,” and we had the “Mystery boxes.”

For me, it was a new experience in terms of teaching and trying to grow and evolve as a teacher, but as [the class] went through the week, as I got to know [my] students and talk to them more, I felt very warmed and uplifted. Everybody seemed very welcoming, polite, and kind, and I appreciate that because I like to be very open, honest, and respectful to my students. I appreciate seeing them interact with each other in those ways and also with me in those ways.

Q: What inspired you to be a teacher?

A: I actually had a specific experience when I was in eighth grade, I wasn’t put in the honors English class, and I was very bored because I had learned everything that I was being taught. I was very frustrated and I told my teacher, so she said, ‘Well, why don’t you help this student over here?’ The student was who I would consider the most popular boy in the school. Somebody who I thought would never need help from anyone, much less me, this little nerd girl. I helped him with capitalization, I think, and a few days later, [my teacher] told me that he said that [he] liked it when I helped him because I didn’t make him feel like he was stupid.

I was really surprised because  nobody had treated me like I was stupid before, so I was kind of shocked, like ‘Oh, people are treated badly like that.’ I had a revelation because I felt like by just being myself I could help somebody learn and make them feel better about themselves. That made me feel good and think ‘Maybe I have some natural ability that I could use in the future,’ and that made me want to be a teacher.

Q: What are your plans for your future here at Los Al?

A: I want teach here until I retire. That’s my plan. In the past, I was forced to move around a lot, but now I’m more in control of my own life. I want to settle down and live near my family now, and I want teach at Los Al forever, become a better and better English teacher, and get a lot of feedback from my students on the way.

Mrs. Berthon, math teacher

Mrs. Berthon became a math teacher because her college roommates feared math. It was them who made her decide that since she loved math, she would go into teaching and do her best to teach it in a way that allows students to feel successful with math. She feels we are all “math people!”

The following interview was conducted over email.

Q: What’s the difference between teaching at Oak Middle School and teaching here at Los Al?

A: The high school campus is HUGE! It is so fun to see so many students walking around!

Q: Why did you switch from middle school to high school?

A: I switched to try something new! I have taught middle school for 17 years and thought it would be fun to teach high school. Also, three of my children are here and I thought that would be neat as well.

Q: What’s one of your favorite lessons you’ve taught?

A: I love “Slope Dude!” It is very important to stay “Puff, Puff, Positive!”

Q: What school did you graduate from?

A: I got a degree in math from UC Santa Barbara and my Masters and teaching credential from Pepperdine University.

Q: Have you ever taught a different subject?

A: I have only taught math.

Los Al is very grateful to welcome these three new teachers into the Griffin family and looks forward to how they will impact students on campus.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Ms. Nagami taught at Mark Eastern University. This was corrected to Northeastern University on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023.