Meet the Teacher: Interview with Ms. Garcia

Written by E. Franks

This week, I had the privilege of interviewing Collier's newest English teacher, Ms. Garcia.

 The first question I decided to ask was an important one: “Why did you decide to become an English teacher?” 

She responded, “I’ve always loved stories, words, and writing.” She continued to explain how, in her free time, she enjoys reading and writing; “so I figured, why not try to inspire other people to enjoy reading and writing more?” 

To follow up with this topic, I asked, “Was there a certain book that made you fall in love with reading?” She replied, “Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

.” This book is a children's horror-style book published in 2007, featuring a pair of cousins who vacation in Maine and unravel a decades-long mystery. Ms. Garcia continued with a heartwarming statement, “I actually didn’t know how to read until I was about 6-7 years old. After tons of tutoring, I saw this book with a watery, foggy cover at a shop and bought it. It was a horror story… I would stay up until 3 am, slowly sounding out the words, taking in the story. I’ve been hooked on reading ever since.” Hearing this was inspiring in every way possible. Someone who once struggled with reading now loves and teaches it, showing that with effort and passion, you can achieve anything. 

Whether it's five books or 50, every reader has a “To Be Read” List. Therefore, I finished our interview with the weighty question: “How many books are on your To Be Read List?” After checking her GoodReads list, Ms. Garcia responded with an outstanding answer of 205 books. She continued to say that this was less than she expected it to be. Unsurprisingly, most of her TBR list consists of fantasy and horror stories. 

Every word, page, chapter, and book you read can teach you something different. Ms. Garcia explained that she believes every book she has read has shaped who she is as a person, she finds lessons in everything, and reading constantly teaches her new things.