Students that take one of Mrs. Johnston’s classes engage in what I would say is a totally different experience from any other class.
I take AP Literature taught by her. This being my first ever AP class I wasn’t too sure that I was the right fit for it in the beginning. I was feeling like I wasn’t smart enough to even pass the class and as If i had put myself in a predicament where I was bound to fail.
But Mrs. Johnston didn’t take no for an answer.
She pulled me to the side and basically said that I had no reason to second guess myself. I could do this and she was going to guide me through it.
At first I didn’t really think of it much until I interviewed her and she told me about her passion for teaching AP. “I enjoy teaching AP because the students are excited to learn,” she said. “A student willing to try and fail to get better will grow”.
Watching a student learn and understand something compared to just a good grade is her goal. “The kid that goes from a C to a C+ has learned something but the kid that stays at the 100% may have learned nothing at all,” she said. It shows skill and progression which shows growth.
Mrs. Johnston knows that many kids are born with a talent and some just aren’t. But even if they are the smartest in the world they can always be taught more. Showing a child their unknown traits that were hidden is what she strives to do with her teaching. “Some kids are born with this natural talent,” she said. “My job is to sharpen them but other people aren’t so my goal is to show them how to sharpen themselves.”
