JACARA POOLE, Social Studies Department

Q: What made you decide to teach social studies? 

A: I decided to teach social studies because as I was growing up that was always my favorite subject. [Social studies] was always something I was interested in. I was the only person in my friends group that liked history, so I thought maybe I can make other people like history if I teach it. It’s something that I enjoy so much and I want to share that with other people. 

Q:What does your typical workday look like? 

A: Wake up, adjusting to online learning, teaching the classes, and after school making sure [my] line of communication is open with students, and grading. 

Q: How has virtual learning impacted your job?

A:  It is definitely calling on me to be much more creative. Trying to work in a way to get everyone interested in what [I’m] talking about, which can be difficult because everyone has different levels of being interested – especially in social studies. During the online model you have to work with students having an even wider range of distractions on the other side of the camera. It is a learning process. On Fridays, everyone who feels comfortable will turn on their camera. We will make it a themed day, either Halloween day or bring your pet day. Hopefully if people turn on their cameras we can get more comfortable talking in class as well. 

Q: Tell me about your educational background. 

A: I graduated in May of this year. Completed my internship and graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor’s [degree] in history and history education. 

Q: What brought you to Wakefield?

A: I always knew that the level of education in Wake County was great, so I knew it was somewhere I would love to start my career. I just moved out here, so I am really excited to be here. 

Q: What do you like most about Wakefield so far? 

A: It seems like you guys are really involved, [and] I can’t see that to the widest scale right now, but even the senior parade was an awesome experience and such a kind thing to do. It was great to see students in person, and the school is really involved in the social aspect of the environment. I think it’s so important to be involved with students outside of the classroom. 

Q: What do you like to do outside of school?

A: The biggest thing is napping right now, but outside of sleeping I like to sew. I am always binging a new show. During the summer time, I was making masks. 

Q: Do you have any crazy teaching stories? 

A: [The] random interloper in the google chat, but [I] haven’t seen much of that lately. For the most part everything has been pretty standard, and I am thankful for that. 

Q: What is your advice for students taking your class(es)? 

A: Apply yourself. Even though school is online, that does not mean it’s time to give up or start lacking. Make sure to use your time wisely and put yourself into this work. If you need help, talk to your teachers. If you don’t understand something please speak to someone about it, ask for help, and learn to not procrastinate.