Katelynn Meaney is an English teacher at Freedom High School. She teaches both ninth grade academics and honors English. Meaney attended James Madison University for her undergraduate and masters, receiving a Bachelor of Education degree. Just one year after she graduated, she began her teaching career in 2022. Meaney revisited the moments that sparked her interest in teaching English and what ultimately made her dive into this field.
“I did a lot of nannying with a girl who had cerebral palsy, and so she kind of inspired me to go into specification,” Meaney said. “Then when I was at school and I was taking all of my English classes, I started to realize I really wanted to become an English teacher, but also have experience in background and specialization.”
However, her journey as a young teacher had a rocky beginning because of society’s view on people becoming teachers at a young age. Meaney wasn’t perceived as the typical orthodox teacher. Society views the traditional teacher as one who has a vast amount of life experience, maturity and authority—all of which, people believed young teachers lacked.
“The way that people talk to me about how I should be so afraid, especially people outside of the profession the immediate response was always ‘Oh my gosh. How are you going to do that?’ Or ‘Aren’t you worried or scared?’” Meaney said.
Addressing the social stigma surrounding young teachers presented challenges, but Meaney did not let it deter her. She discovered ways to hone in on her skill set, and use it to her advantage.
“I realized that relationship building and being engaging were my strengths,” Meaney said. “So over time, I’ve taken advantage of my strengths, instead of trying to fit the mold of what I thought a teacher is supposed to be.”
Meaney found that being present on social media has helped improve her ability to connect and build relationships with her students on a deeper level as compared to her older colleagues.
“I do feel like [using social media] also comes with [students] talking to me differently, using different modes of language than they would with a teacher that’s not as present on social media,” said Meaney. “I’m always adapting to what they find relevant to themselves so I’m never keeping references or slides the same from years past, because I want to make sure I’m connecting with them on that other level.”
Now, with a proactive approach and an enhanced understanding of her personal strengths, Meaney enters her fourth year of teaching with confidence.
