Faculty perspective: 4 benefits of teaching the same students all year long

by Jennifer Sullivan

The article by James Lang, Lessons From a Freshman Year, echos the reasons why I love and have continued to teach at Thames Academy for 10 years. The author explains 4 main benefits he received when he taught a freshman course and was able to work with the same group of students all year long.

 * Closeness to students
Working at Thames Academy allows me to know more about my students' lives than a typical instructor, sometimes, more than I care to know. However, I trust the Thames students and over the past 10 years I have brought both of my daughters to visit Thames and the students I was teaching that year.  My oldest daughter is 10 years old and she first visited Thames before she was 1 year old. The Thames students have been so kind and accepting of my daughters. My daughters have grown up at Thames Academy and I wouldn't have it any other way.

• Shifting perceptions

Teaching students foundation skills in the fall semester allows me to challenge them in the spring beyond what I know they have already learned. I build on past successes and expect more of them throughout the year. I can bring humor and challenge into my classroom because the students know I am on their side. I talk to the students as young adults, not children, and respect their personal journey during their year at Thames. I am able to see their growth and development from day 1 until graduation day and they constantly amaze me.

• Campus events

Many former Thames students now attend Mitchell College and most are involved in campus extracurricular clubs. Attending the Drama Society productions, hosting a booth at Fresh Check Day, and participating in the 'Penguin Plunge' in January are ways I like to stay connected to students in their lives outside of the classroom. Thames Academy also does a terrific job of planning activities around our students' interests. The plethora of Thames trips gives me lots of opportunities to be involved with our students....in fact, I live in New London  and often surprise the students when we run into each other at Target or the mall!

• Learning about residential life

Teaching at Thames is so much more than teaching just academic content. Working where the students live is a very interesting window into their personal lives.....
At Thames I teach students:

• to be kind to those who learn differently
• patience to the student who can't open his mailbox
• that instructors aren't perfect
• that Dr. Seuss' Yertle the Turtle can help them understand sociologist Stanley Milgrim
• that my name is Mrs. Sullivan, not "Yo miss"
• that wearing your pajamas to class isn't the impression you want to give to your teacher
• how to make a train reservation online when they miss their sister and want to go home
• how to tell a boy "I'm just not that into you"
• how to console a student whose grandparent recently passed
• that my heart is big enough to care about 40 students