Cedar Springs — If it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, Cedar Springs Middle School teacher Shaye Rogers may have never found her path to the front of the classroom.
But when she graduated college in 2020 with a degree in business management, the scarcity of employment opportunities forced her hand. She turned to subbing, and, finding she had a knack and a passion for education, pursued her master’s in education through an accelerated program at Aquinas College.
Now four years into her unexpected career choice — and three years into her tenure as an eighth-grade English language arts teacher at Cedar Springs — she’s settled into a rhythm.
She told SNN all about it.
‘Don’t try to be the 20-year veteran teacher in the first year, or even the first five years. Choose three things that you really, truly want to get better at … and just commit to that.’
— teacher Shaye Rogers
Why do you teach? “I fell into teaching, very much so. It’s like a puddle and you step into it. Why I stayed: really, it matters,” Rogers said. “I’m just so glad that I get to sit here every day and do something that matters … and has an impact on people.”
What is your biggest motivator that keeps you excited about teaching? “Definitely the creative aspect of it and the ability to deliver one piece of information hundreds of different ways. There’s 2+2=4, but there’s many different ways to get to 4,” she said, adding that she loves to “use the imaginative part of my brain to come up with cool and effective ways to deliver information to students.”
Why English? What’s the best thing about it? “I’ve always loved English just for the ability to read what’s on the surface, but then to break it down and read what’s between the lines and below the surface,” Rogers said. “To have that ‘OMG’ moment on kids’ faces when they realize that writing and reading isn’t just what it says — there’s a lot of hidden meanings and things to figure out. … It’s like an onion. There’s layers to an onion, you just have to peel them back.”
What are some of the biggest challenges in your role and how do you strive to meet them? “The biggest challenge has to do with relevance. How can I make ‘Romeo and Juliet’ relevant to eighth-grade kids that are sitting in my classroom today? And how can I maintain relevance of the content and curriculum?”
Rogers said it used to be that college was the key to relevance. Underscoring how a class concept would be beneficial in higher education was an easy way to illustrate its significance to students’ lives. But with more and more students opting for options other than college, it takes some imagination to keep students invested.
“I always try to rely on humor, and to tell information in a way that it’s a story. We talk about Romeo and Juliet as if they’re peers in our class. … I used that creative and imaginative aspect to just make it a little bit more entertaining for them,” she said. “And I hate to say it, but if you can slip in the numbers 6-7 into your explanation of something, they’re going to be listening. Just trying to kind of connect with them on their level.”
What’s the most amazing/notable/interesting thing about your students? “They have such a sense of ownership over this school, and they really do care about the seventh-graders and the sixth-graders, and they care about the legacy that they leave,” Rogers said. “They have this sense of, like, the older sibling. They’re very much the big brother, big sister in the building. They’re mentors, each and every one of them.”
What would you say to someone considering teaching as a profession? “ When you start teaching there’s going to be 12 things that professors, mentors will tell you that makes you a good teacher. But in your first year, in your first three years, just commit to three things that you want to be good at. … Don’t try to be the 20-year veteran teacher in the first year or even the first five years. Choose three things that you really, truly want to get better at … and just commit to that.”
“Teach because it matters. Teach because you want to make an impact. Teach because it’s important for the future.”
What’s something you’ve learned from your students? “Definitely patience,” Rogers said. “It’s everybody’s first time living.”
Read more from Cedar Springs:
• Peer tutors pay forward their academic success
• ‘I think it’s really important for people to see how fun choir can be’
