Cypress Ranch teachers come to the campus with many years of experience, including a wealth of knowledge from previous jobs.

Human Geography AP teacher Ms. Charlesworth said she had her first official paying job at 15 through the age of 26 and explained that she felt ¨independent¨ because the money she would make from working at restaurants or other jobs she had applied for would go towards family and school to help out. 

¨I think that I just felt lucky to be part of something and give to the community,¨ Charlesworth said. 

Additionally, she mentioned that she faces more challenges now than in her experience with her first job due to her being older now, having more responsibilities, grading work at home and in general doing her job well. Her passion for teaching came from her liking of school. 

¨I always said I could be in school forever,¨ she said. ¨I love the smell of pencils, books and fresh paper.¨  

However, her first official job after she ended the one she worked at for 11 years, was not working as a teacher. She was first a consultant and then she moved onto refugee settlements. Furthermore, she and her husband tried to run a private business for a while, but she always was set on working in education because it is something she generally liked and could contribute to the learning of the next generations. 

She mentioned the improvements the school could make towards the environment that both students and teachers use daily, she referred to the American school system and how it is “institutionalized.” 

“I feel that we should actually give students more freedom,” she said. “I think with that freedom there will be more responsibilities. I would also like if the school had more common area spaces, windows and green spaces where both students and teachers can sit and talk.”

Moreover, Geometry teacher and football coach Mr. Herrera shared his first experiences at his first job. 

“My first job was at Stanton Middle School in Stanton, Texas. I was treated fairly for it being my first job, and it was real fun,” he said. “I was only there for one year and then moved back to Houston.” 

Herrera said he had always had a passion and fun interest in sports, along with the support of his coaches in high school who inspired him to go into this field 

“The impact that my coaches had on me in high school is what made me want to do what I do today,” he said. “I think that’s important or else I wouldn’t be here teaching geometry and football.” 

Herrera said teachers in general face challenges.

“When I got my first job at 21, I felt very independent because most of the lesson plans and day-to-day operations were handled by myself,” he said. “I feel like compared to my first job, this job is more demanding, and the level of my coaching position and role is higher than what it was during my first job.¨

Additionally, when Herrera was asked about improvements towards the school and environment not much was said except, ¨I think my current job is pretty fair with how they treat us, but to improve on more, [I’d say] giving teachers more of a liberty choice, but I think overall this job treats us very fair all the way.¨

English II teacher Ms. Cortez, described her first job before teaching. 

¨My official job was at Smoothie King, and I was treated very well,¨ she said.

Compared to her first job she said teaching is “more stressful” for her. 

“I definitely feel more independent now, but in comparison to my first job, it was like a minimum wage job, it didn’t pay bills, though this one doesn’t either, but it kind of does,” she said. “It’s not as comparable to my first because my current job is more fulfilling, and there is more money than the first, which works OK.” 

Cortez said she had an interest and passion to work with students.

“I like interacting with the kids, seeing the kids develop and overcoming challenges,” she said. 

To sum it up, Cortez said, ¨I appreciate that my boss is supportive like giving us control of our classrooms. In terms of environment, I think there could be things that could alleviate some teachers a little bit – things like more time to grade, smaller class sizes and an actual livable income. But overall, it’s pretty good.¨ 

Many students said that teachers deserve way more credit than what they get. Not only do they take part in one of the most important moments of our lives, whether it is inspiring us to achieve, encouraging us to get our work done or shaping the future generation.