The Blue and White had the opportunity to get to know Ms. Ramirez before she sadly had to leave Apopka High School. Many students love Ms. Ramirez, as she cares a lot about her students and ensures each student gets they get the proper attention and satisfaction with their products.
It’s Hard to Leave
Ms. Ramirez begins by explaining why she feels so conflicted about leaving Apopka High School. This is her first year teaching ceramics in Apopka, and she has already grown and developed a strong attachment to our school. She explains that Apopka seemed like her forever school, especially since she was teaching her favorite subject, which is ceramics. She said, “Apopka is probably of all the schools I’ve worked at one of my favorites, and I’ve worked at a couple of schools, but I don’t know the vibe here is just different. I told myself that if I weren’t in the situation that I was in, this would be my forever school. I love the staff, and I love the students. You guys just know you like you’re different, but not in a bad way, in a really good way. Clay was my first thing. It was the class that I took every year in high school at all levels. Other than scribbling on paper. And it was funny, though, because I had never run a kiln before [teaching]. So, after I found out, I got the position. I had to scramble online and teach myself how to run a kiln. And now I’m like a master at it.” It is apparent that Ms. Rameriz loved her job and felt lucky to have the opportunity to teach at Apopka High School.
Things You Don’t Miss
Moving further into things she dislikes about teaching ceramics, she begins telling us some pet peeves that only a few people would understand: “Well, I’m still going to be teaching ceramics, although I’m only teaching one section of ceramics. I have a much nicer wardrobe than what you guys saw. But [I can’t ] wear it, because you’re just going to be covered in clay. By the end of the day. I feel like my wardrobe was ‘clay.’ At the same time, it’s kind of like, you know, part of it. You know, what’s hilarious? I hate the feeling of clay on my hands. It drives me crazy when clay dries on my hands. So I’m constantly rinsing my hands off. But you know, that’s part of it.”
Things You Will Miss
In contrast to the things she hates, she begins to reminisce about the things that she loves when it comes to teaching. For example, high school students trying to figure out the future and learning how to be an adult: “You guys are leaving; it’s what I’m going to miss the most because you guys are cool. I am going to be a teacher for the rest of my life. I’m a lifer. I really am. There’s nothing else that I want to do. Something I’ve known since I was five years old. I wanted to teach. It was a dream When I got my first job, I cried. I literally fell on my knees and cried after I hung up the phone. Yeah, because there’s nothing else like it. I will always be a teacher through and through.”
The Reason To Teach
While explaining why she loves teaching, Ms. Ramirez compares and contrasts teaching to retail, which she has been doing for 20 years before becoming a teacher. She appreciates the connections she makes when teaching high school, finding that retail connections are often superficial and also because students can be brutally honest: “You have this like really cool area of have you guys are freaking out because you’re about to be an adult. And you don’t know what to do with yourself, and you’re like, Oh my God, oh my God, what do I do? And most of the time, you’re kind of still like figuring out how to be a person, and what kind of person you’re going to be. It’s different because you have this vulnerability that middle schoolers don’t have because of where they’re at. And elementary schoolers don’t have the level of cognition yet. They’re not like they’re not fully aware of what’s going on. [Therefore] getting to experience you guys figuring yourselves out. [Also] being there for you guys while you’re doing it. I get the opportunity to kind of want to say help mold you but give you support and guidance during the scariest part of your life because every decision that you make is going to affect it’s like a domino effect.”
The Blue and White wishes Ms. Ramirez a fond farewell, and we hope her next adventure brings her joy.
