Fatima Husain, and Abyan Ali also contributed to this article.
World history–two simple words that hold vast information about humans from the very beginning of time. Whether we talk about the Stone Age from 2.5 million years ago or the Fall of the Berlin Wall, history intertwines with our daily lives in numerous ways. To teach about the mosaic of our past, Sarah Straight has become a part of Malden High School’s community as a world history teacher.
“She came to us with 14 years of experience in New Orleans… she taught in the heart of the city. She and her family moved up here, and she was looking for a job. She was certified in Social Studies, with AP World History and AP Government among the many classes she can teach. She completely owned the interview. I walked her out, and I came back in and everybody said, ‘Did you hire her yet?’” Principal Chris Mastrangelo stated.
Ann Pember, a world history teacher who collaborates with Straight in the social studies department said, “She’s great. She’s worked in several schools before and has a lot of experience, so she knows her history. We’re lucky to have her.”
Like all teachers, she has a strong passion for her subject. As a kid, Straight was already showing signs of wanting to be a teacher, as she would “force” her siblings to play school. She would teach them important lessons on how to read and ride their bikes. She finds a lot of joy in explaining things and, therefore, loves her job as a history teacher. Straight describes teaching as a “combined job,” where she gets to teach about something that she is truly passionate about.
Although her interest in history fueled her desire to become a teacher, she also thinks students of all ages are interesting to work with. She is not the kind of person who enjoys being bored—and with students, a day is never boring. A fan of the New Orleans Saints Straight grew up in Louisiana and started her career as a teacher in that state. After spending a couple of weeks at Malden High, she can clearly point out a few differences and similarities that she has noticed between the students from both cities.
“I think that schools generally have their structure, but New Orleans schools have a different structure, like every school in New Orleans is a charter school,” Straight explained. “A lot of the schools in New Orleans are smaller, so where I’ve taught it’s always quicker to build community when it’s just physically smaller…I’m from Louisiana, so this is my first time teaching outside of where I’ve been teaching forever.” She added, “I think there was a little bit of nervousness at the very beginning, but once the day started, I was like, oh yeah, kids are great everywhere.”
What stood out to her about Malden was the diversity of the school. Straight describes the students as what makes the school’s community a place of wonder; it “makes the classroom just a bit more interesting,”. The rich diversity of Malden High really stood out to her in her job search, and demonstrated her dedication. She even read The Blue and Gold to learn more about Malden High and the community of the building.
“When I was preparing for my interview, I found all the newspaper articles, so I actually used the newspaper as a research tool to try to get a job here, which I guess worked. I got hired,” Straight recalled.
Stepping into her classroom, you can see how students are given space to work, but she makes sure to direct her class when needed. She also has a humorous tone while teaching, helping students engage and pay attention in class.
Straight’s next-door neighbor in school, Michael Lightbody, a US History and Foundations of Law teacher at Malden High, enthusiastically remarked, “She’s only been here a few weeks, but it feels like she’s been here forever.”
Since 2009, Straight has worked as a teacher and her motivation to keep going is to acknowledge important figures in history. She stated, “I’m not going to make everyone love history…my class is probably not going to convince you to change but maybe you’ll end up watching the news and go ‘Oh wait, I did learn about that!’”
“She’s wonderful, she really is. A team player with gentleness and enthusiasm,” Marsha Healey, another World History teacher at Malden High, commented about having Straight on the team.
In addition to her classroom duties, Straight is passionate about building relationships with her students. She believes that understanding their backgrounds and interests is key to creating an inclusive learning environment.
One of the things she loves most about history is the fact that there are many interesting stories. She enjoys teaching students about things that they most likely would not know about, and she teaches world history for that reason. The students that she teaches are juniors in high school. These students already know about US and European history, which was why she was so drawn to teaching world history. “It’s cool to be able to like, actually remember there’s a whole world, right?” Straight elaborated.
“I think school is a lot better if you can find the things in school that bring it up.
It’s just a little bit of joy, right? Even if you’re like, ‘I don’t really want to be at school at eight in the morning, I would rather be asleep.’ What are the classes that are a little bit more exciting? What is the thing you’re looking forward to?” Straight said.
