I think everyone who teaches grows to love their students – you get really attached. I had one student who just loved math class. He used to email me and say, “Mrs. Pett, can you send me more math problems to do?”
His family had immigrated from the Congo and one day, I asked him, “Why do you like math so much?” He said, “Well, Ms. Pett. I just love school in general. That’s why my parents came here. I know how important it is and that you need it for your life. When I’m rich and have money in the future, I’m going to give you $1 million dollars because teachers deserve it. You’ve taught me so much.”
Moments like that were incredibly gratifying.
Or even small things, like when you could see something click for a student. That’s what I loved about teaching 7th grade. At that age, they’re trying to be cool but they’re still young enough that you can see the excitement when they finally understand a concept. I loved getting to see those aha moments in real time.
But after teaching for two years and seeing so many issues with the system, I wanted to come to graduate school to learn more about education policy. I hope to change some of the policies, especially around Title I schools, surrounding access to quality education.
Raising teacher pay really has to be a legislative focus.
So often you see counties with higher property taxes paying teachers more, so veteran teachers go to higher paying schools and districts. By raising teacher pay and making it more equal across the board, you can help keep schools competitive regardless of the students’ socioeconomic status.
And then there are just simple resources: there were days when I would start class without any pencils. How can a school function properly when the simplest resources aren’t available to students? Or our air conditioning wasn’t working, it was 90 degrees, and I had 45 students packed into my classroom. Little things that are neglected influence student achievement, which then shifts kids’ perspective on education. It’s a vicious cycle. Many legislators are looking past it, but it desperately needs to be addressed. – Steph Pett MPP’25 #HumansofDukeSanford #MPP