Throughout the years, the North Arlington School District has harbored some of the nicest and most charismatic teachers.  Among those teachers is the wonderful 7th grade Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Fisher.  Mrs. Fisher was born in Big Spring, Texas at the Webb Airforce Base.  Once her father completed his service, they moved back to North Arlington, where her parents grew up.  She was only a little over a year old at that time.  Mrs. Fisher attended Jersey City State College, which is now New Jersey City University.  While at college, she majored in Education and English Literature.

Mrs. Fisher has been teaching for 30 years — she started her teaching career with fourth-graders at St. Cecelia Grammar School in Kearny.  After working there, she was then hired by the North Arlington Public School District.  When she began teaching in North Arlington, her first two years were at Washington School with the 7th grade.  Following her time in Washington School, she moved to North Arlington Middle School and became part of the original staff.  She was a teacher when the middle school opened and remained there until its recent change of location. Mrs. Fisher is the only original faculty member to have moved to the new Veterans Middle School in her 28th year of teaching in North Arlington. 

While executing the interview, I asked Mrs. Fisher why she chose to teach the subject she does.  She explained that, “I love to read.  I find it to be very relaxing and enjoyable.  There is also so much to learn from reading a book.  My favorite genre is historical fiction.  Sharing the love of reading, with my students, is very important to me”.  Both Mrs. Fisher and her daughter, Ms. Fisher, are teachers at the same school.  I had the pleasure of having these amazing women when I was in middle school! 

 Although many teachers can say they have crazy or memorable classroom experiences, the one that stood out the most to Mrs. Fisher was when “a former student tried to grab a sticky hand toy from me.  He leaned over his desk and got his hand (then arm) caught in my sleeve.  He began to fall which caused me to start spinning.  The two of us hit the ground.  I narrowly avoided him.  During the fall, my shoe flew off.  When he realized that he caused the entire thing, he jumped up, grabbed my shoe, and ran to the back of the room.  In the end, we all laughed and I put him on probation.  He was a character.”  

The main goal Mrs. Fisher has for her students is to enjoy being in her class.  She would like for them to have the same love for reading that she does.  Mrs. Fisher’s favorite literature to teach is the novel, Refugee, by Alan Gratz.  To her, it’s an easier way to incorporate informational text.  The students tend to want to learn more about the history in the novel.  For those who may not have had Mrs. Fisher in middle school, some of her favorite movies are Braveheart, The Lion King (original), Gone With the Wind, and Gladiator.  Besides Refugee, she loves Allies, which is also by Alan Gratz.  Mrs. Fisher watches so many shows that not just one is her favorite.  She recently has caught a liking to The Crown and Bridgerton.  She is also fond of the Giants and the Mets.

The only goals Mrs. Fisher has for this year is to start exercising more and get in shape.  I think most of us can agree that COVID has been our excuse for that.  If you never had the chance to get to know Mrs. Fisher, try to, you won’t regret it!