When sitting in English teacher Michelle Hanson’s comfortable, spacious office, if you are ever about to sneeze, she will immediately run over and place a tissue box on the table. She won’t even wait for you to sneeze completely; her first instinct is to help.
Hanson has been a teacher at this school for 22 of the 33 years she has been teaching. She has been running the Humanities and Arts program for 21, where she arranges field trips and teaches both AP Seminar and AP Research. She is also a part of the Instructional Leadership Team, where she helps make decisions for the school.
Hanson always knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Being the youngest of six, she was the last of her siblings to attend school. As a result, she thought of school as something she was missing out on; to make matters worse, her school in her hometown, Spokane, Washington, didn’t offer kindergarten, so she would only start in first grade. “Once I got to school, I really thought that that was about the coolest job in the world: being a school teacher,” Hanson said.
Her path to discovering what she wanted to teach wasn’t as clear. At one point in high school, she wanted to become a music teacher because of her involvement in the choir. “By the time I had graduated, I had just kind of fallen in love with literature,” Hanson said.
So, Hanson received her BA in English education, but also minored in history and went on to receive her masters in history. In particular, she was interested in social history, such as the study of women and other groups. “I always wanted to teach history, but there were always more jobs in English,” Hanson said.
When Hanson moved to Maryland and eventually got to this school, her predecessor mentioned to the principal that she had a background in both English and history, which led her to interview for a position teaching a senior seminar class; this class would eventually turn into AP Seminar and Research after the school joined the Capstone program in around 2015. “I was ready to do something a little bit different and that was really very different,” Hanson said.
Even though she loves the versatility of AP Seminar and being surrounded by learning, Hanson’s favorite part about her job is her students. “I know that when I am in too many meetings or have too much paperwork to do, I always feel like I’m losing myself, but what grounds me is coming into the classroom and hanging out with [students],” Hanson said.
Students can truly see how much Hanson prioritizes her students’ wellbeing in class. “She doesn’t target students, but instead lets everyone participate voluntarily. She’s supportive of every student,” junior Aanya Kapoor said.
Her colleagues also see the positive impact Hanson has on the school environment. “I love how positive she is, how energetic she is, how much she cares about the students, [and] how excited she is about teaching,” English teacher Madeleine Osgood said.
Hanson has learned and grown throughout her time as a teacher, but states that her most significant change was her confidence. “For a long time, it was just very anxiety producing [but now] I can’t remember the last time I got nervous speaking in front of anybody,” Hanson said.
