Mrs. Luddy, APK’s Accounting and Computer Science teacher, runs the E-Sports team and is very passionate about her courses and students. She has a daughter in college and a son who’s a senior here at Apopka. 

How long have you been teaching at Apopka High School?

This is my second year at Apopka High School. Before that, I taught elementary school for several years, 18 of which were actually at Rock Springs, so about 27 years of teaching.

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

I’ve always wanted to work with kids, even before I decided in college to become a teacher. All of the degree paths I was thinking about revolved around kids so I’ve always enjoyed working with kids.

Is it different teaching high school versus teaching elementary school?

In some ways, yes, in other ways, no. I mean, high schoolers are still big kids in some ways. The thing I like about high school is that I can focus on just the subjects that I teach. In elementary school, you’re teaching everything. High School you have a little bit more maturity there. And they get my humor. Elementary school kids, they didn’t always get my humor, especially sarcasm. But you know, I like the curriculum that I’m teaching now. So it’s [teaching] something I’ve always enjoyed.

What courses do you teach now?

So right now I have one class that is accounting two and three, where we focus on QuickBooks and accounting principles. I teach four classes of AP Computer Science Principles, which a lot of times they put freshmen in. It’s kind of like a beginner AP course, but to me, AP Computer principles is familiarizing people with technology, software, and what coding is. I use JavaScript, AP doesn’t require us to use a specific language. They’re looking more at do you get the general idea and the logic behind programming. And then the other class I have is AP Computer Science A, which is, of course, where they are really deep diving into programming and they’re using Java to program codes and whatnot. Next year, I believe they’re adding AICE Computer Science. So they’re saying that would be like the third year of computer science. I’ve always been big into technology, and I think that even if these kids don’t want to go into programming, understanding what goes into that app they play on their phone, and understanding what is happening when they’re going on their computer or playing on an app, I think can benefit them in the future.

What do you enjoy about teaching these courses and what do you dislike about teaching?

So one of the things I like is I do get a lot of kids. It’s a high interest course because you get into it, especially with principals. It hooks their interest. QuickBooks, I like teaching because it’s accounting. It’s just a skill that anybody can use in life. They’re basically learning about finance, but they get to see it through a business lens. So if they ever get a job in the future, they can understand their tax forms and their pay stub, and they understand how the money goes in and out of the business. QuickBooks is something that can say “hey, I know QuickBooks and it might help them have a leg up on actually getting a job.” And then the computer science A course, you have to have principles before you have A, so when I get those kids, those are the kids that are truly passionate about programming. We’re going to need programmers in the future because whether you realize it or not almost everything that we have that plugs into a wall has some sort of programming and technology behind it. People say AI is gonna take over the world, but the thing is, programmers have to write a program for a machine to learn whatever the task is. So it’s never going to truly replace people. But it’s something we’re going to need people that are able to help program it and help it learn the things that it needs to learn. A dislike would be sometimes especially with principals, kids get put in the class and they’re like, “why am I in this class?” because it’s a class that does involve some higher level math to understand when we start doing some logic and figuring things out. The fact that they sometimes just throw freshmen in there, they get in here and for some of them, it’s just it’s above their head because of where they are in their math courses. The only thing I can think of that I dislike about it is when I get those kids that, just from the start, they come in and they’re like “hey, why am I in this?” They kind of get that mindset that they’re like, “Okay, yeah, no, this isn’t something I’m interested in. I’m not gonna pay attention.” So it’s a battle for me then to try and convince them that “hey, you’re in here. This is the right place for you.”

Do you have any “difficult” students in your classes?

I mean, because I’m an AP course, I generally do not have any bad kids. I’ve had one or two kids. They weren’t bad but they weren’t at the level of my AP kids. When I really started, the things I started noticing were seniors. The second semester, you start to notice they start slacking off because they’re seniors and they have that senioritis. I noticed that with freshmen, the first half of the year, because there’s still new and kind of looking like “oh, what do I do? I’m in high school,” they’re usually quiet and get stuff done. But that second half of the year, the kids who caused trouble in middle school, it’s like they get a little too comfortable. And they’re like, “Alright, I got this high school thing.” You know, they get a little too cocky. And then you’ve got juniors and seniors rolling their eyes saying “please grow up.” Because I’ve been teaching so long, my personality is different. I’m more laid back. I’m more if you have a problem, come talk to me. I’m not one of those people that’s like, “no, it’s due on this date. It must be and if you don’t have it, then it’s a zero.” My goal is for kids to learn the content that I’m teaching. But I want them to learn it.

What hobbies do you have? Like outside of school, what do you enjoy?

There are a couple of things I do and it’s funny, I kind of go in cycles. I like to read, other times, I like gaming, one of the things I’m really big into right now is VR (virtual reality) gaming. I’m part of a community of gamers that do VR games and I’m in a play-testing group. There’s a couple of other VR games that I like to play like Beat Saber, and I also play community games. You’re getting in, you’re playing with a group of people so you’re talking to people you don’t know, but they’re from all over the world. I like going out boating and fishing as well. My parents have a house on Lake Eustis and they just recently got a boat, so we like going out to Mount Dora.

What is your favorite show or movie?

I’ll be honest, I don’t watch a lot of TV. One of the movies I like to watch just because it’s kind of like a cult classic and it’s just hilarious to me is The Big Lebowski. I also like the Marvel series.