Background of Mrs Kaminski
Mrs Kaminski teaches Pre-AP English, Journalism, and English 11 at Hauppauge High School. She has taught in the district for a total of 9 years, 4 years at the middle school and 5 years at the high school. Mrs Kaminski first wanted to become a teacher because as a child she struggled during English classes throughout elementary and middle school. Due to this she knew that she wanted to help the kids that struggled like she did. More importantly, she had a teacher when she was in school that helped her and she learned that she wanted to do the same. As she got older her love of reading also grew making it clear that she wanted to become an English teacher. To become a teacher Mrs Kaminski studied at St. Joseph’s in Patchogue for her undergraduate and masters. She stated that St. Josephs was the top college for her because it was close to home and she knew that she didn’t want to be too far away from home. In addition, it was a good school for teaching and was small, which is one of the factors that were important to her. Through her teachers there she learned how to teach students in different ways that would benefit them the best.
The Kaminski Method
There are various teaching methods that Mrs Kaminski uses when teaching her students. When reading novels and short stories during class she breaks down the lesson to help the students get a better understanding. She goes over test taking methods to ensure a greater possibility that her class will get a good grade. Indifferently, her class helps kids learn to manage their time through creating deadlines. Also a lot of the work in her English classes is partner work which pushes the students to get new views about a novel or receive a different perspective on a topic. Another thing that Mrs Kaminski does is she has us do a lot of fun projects to show our creativity and it makes us think about the characters in detail. This way of learning offers another way to comprehend the topic. Despite teaching Pre-AP English and English 11 Mrs Kaminski also teaches Journalism. This elective is a class where students get to write articles that conform to a certain topic. While having students write an article based on a topic there is complete freedom to ask what the students in the class choose to write about. The one requirement is that the articles are submitted by the deadline. Mrs Kaminski is always there to help and give advice. If a student can’t come up with a topic or doesn’t know what to write she helps come up with ideas. Lastly, she pushes all of her students to do their best in everything they do.
Impacting students
It is extremely clear how great of an impact Mrs Kaminski has had on her students and the school in general. During her English class periods she teaches students how to excel and get good grades. She makes her students work their hardest to complete the task at hand. She pushes them to do well and continue learning and receive good grades. Through her teaching methods and her explanations she impacts students by making them want to go to school everyday and learn something new. Equally, Mrs Kaminski also causes an impact during her Journalism classes by giving students a calm environment to take a break; she gives her students the freedom to write about anything they want as long as it goes with the topic of the assignment. Due to her, more people want to join Journalism because of the amazing qualities it brings. I know that for me she has made me feel better about my writing and is helping me improve by taking multiple choice examinations. I know that if I’m ever stuck on something that she is a person I can go to. In Journalism Mrs Kaminski has helped me grow in my opinionated writing. In her class I know I can just focus on the work at hand and let any stress that I’ve carried throughout the day go. Also because of her classes I’m now thinking about going to college to become an English teacher. This is the impact Mrs Kaminski has had on me.
