As teacher Anne-Marie Steppling grades her AP US History students post AP assignments on conspiracy theories, she makes a shocking discovery. One of her students has made a theory that connects her to being the leader of the Illuminati.
Steppling started student teaching at Central Mountain High School in Pennsylvania, before coming to teach at this school as an NSL and US History teacher and the coach for girls’ lacrosse, having played lacrosse in high school for MCPS’s inaugural lacrosse season and at Lockhaven University in Pennsylvania. “I became a teacher because it was something I thought I could do and I realized that I really enjoy helping and working with kids, with teenagers specifically,” Steppling said.
Steppling takes pride in her teaching, and her favorite part about it is her students: “My favorite part about being a teacher is the kids I get to work with. They bring me joy, and they make me so happy when they are successful and when I see growth happening.”
In the late 2000s, Steppling added AP Human Geography along with AP NSL and AP US History to her teaching resume.
Over her 20 years of teaching, Steppling has seen multiple classes come through this school as freshmen and leave with growth as seniors, “I teach a lot of freshmen, and when I get to see what they become as seniors, and that’s really cool to see that growth over four years,” Steppling said.
Senior Thomas Mehler enjoys Steppling understanding with students “She’s very understanding with students as people and with a lot of empathy and patience,” Mehler said.
In her free time, Steppling likes to run, exercise, spend time with friends and family, and “drink coffee on the front porch,”
One class, the class of 2017, has an interesting dynamic with Steppling. This is because a student she once taught in that class is now a teacher alongside her. Steppling taught fellow history and second-year teacher, Sophie Ehrlich when she was a student here. “She’s great, she was always very helpful if I needed help during lunch,” Ehrlich said.
She and Ehrlich share a lot of history together, in Ehrlich’s senior year as a student in 2017 she presented an award to Ehrlich.
Steppling and Ehlrich often joke about conspiracy theories, such as living in a simulation. “Steppling believes that we are living in a simulation and we are constantly trying to find proof that we live in a simulation, that’s what we talk about 90% of the time,” Ehrlich said.
Ehlrich also made a conspiracy theory on how Steppling was the leader of the Illuminati while a student during her sophomore year. “When I took APUSH in 2015, we had to make these videos about conspiracy theories, mine was about the Illuminati, and at the end, my friends and I connected Steppling to being the leader of the Illuminati,” Ehrlich said.
Ehlrich takes a lot of her teaching philosophy from how Steppling has been as a teacher and as a coworker. “She has been an amazing mentor. We give feedback on each other’s lessons and make suggestions and she takes those suggestions, but it’s great and I think we collaborate really well. I learned a lot about US history from her 10 years ago, and now I have learned a lot about teaching from her. It’s very full circle,” Ehrlich said.
