AP Seminar and English 10 teacher Melissa Kaplan went on her first date with her husband after taking students on a field trip to the Shakespeare Theater. Meeting through the English department, they had similarities including a love of literature, and remained friends for two years before they started dating.
Initially, Kaplan didn’t want to be a teacher but had a master’s degree in literature. She loves reading, writing and thinking critically, but couldn’t predict how that would translate to being an English teacher. Before discovering her passion, she worked in her school’s writing center at American University as a teaching assistant. She then realized how much she loved passing along her love for literary texts.
Kaplan teaches sophomore Kate Bardill in one of her honors English 10 classes. Bardill said that Kaplan is an understanding teacher who encourages you to find a solution to a presented problem independently, but is always there if additional help is needed. “She has taught me many different writing tips and styles to help me improve my writing,” Bardill said.
According to Kaplan, this past year has been somewhat chaotic due to the startup of the AP Seminar 10 program, an AP Seminar class explicitly offered to sophomores. However, she enjoys teaching the class because it allows students to research and write about any topic that appeals to them. “Students get to pick any topic that they want to explore, and so the stuff that I’m reading about that they’re writing, it’s always different,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan said she lived a typical childhood–she attended Cold Spring Elementary, Cabin John Middle School and eventually this school. She competed in sports, soccer being her big one as she played competitively on a travel team. Kaplan grew up raised in both the Catholic and Jewish religions, therefore her weekends often consisted of going to church, Hebrew school, soccer games, and Catholic Education classes at night. “Sundays were terrible,” Kaplan said. “I appreciate that they encouraged us to do all that, but it was time-consuming.”
In high school, Kaplan had an assortment of extracurricular activities that kept her busy. She played on the school’s soccer and basketball teams as well as played piano. By her senior year, she discovered another one of her passions, singing. She took voice lessons and joined the school’s musical. “I did the musical, it was just my senior year though, and I really loved the experience,” Kaplan said.
After graduating, Kaplan attended the University of Miami and got her bachelor’s degree in literature with minors in psychology and political science. Afterward, she earned her master’s degree in literature at American University. In between undergrad and grad school, she briefly worked in real estate and spent time tutoring. She then encountered a job at a literary agency where she worked for two summers. According to Kaplan, she enjoyed her experience because it required lots of reading manuscripts and writing reports. “I think if I hadn’t gotten into teaching, I would’ve gotten into something like that for a brief time,” Kaplan said.
In addition to teaching, Kaplan has a husband and is the mother of two children. Her husband currently works as a PE teacher at Whitman, and her children’s names are Alexander (six), and Addie (three and a half). “They’re wonderful. I don’t know, they’re my kids. I love them to death,” Kaplan said.
Sophomore Evan Batbold, a student in Kaplan’s eighth-period AP Seminar class finds Kaplan to be a kind and hardworking teacher who helps him improve his writing and researching skills. “Mrs. Kaplan does her best to help her students,” Batbold said.
