As many of us know, Ms. Smith is an adored History teacher at North Arlington High School.  Ms. Smith has been teaching here for 18 years.  She currently teaches US History I, US History I Honors, and US History II to grades 10 through 12.  In the past, she taught AP European History, World History, Sociology, and Economics & Government.  Unlike other teachers in the district, Ms. Smith did not grow up in one of our neighboring towns.  She grew up in River Edge, graduating from River Dell High School.

After graduating high school, Ms. Smith attended The University of Miami and The University of Scranton.  At The University of Miami, Ms. Smith majored in History and minored in Secondary Education.  For The University of Scranton, although it was an online program, Ms. Smith obtained her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction.  She chose to go into teaching history because it was her favorite subject in school (mine too, shhh!).  

Even though Ms. Smith is the only one in her family who teaches at NAHS, she has other family members in the teaching profession.  Her sister is an elementary school teacher in the Haworth Public School District.  Throughout the years, Ms. Smith has made some great memories with her students.  One of those memories is when a class of hers brought her three toads.  Their names were Otto, Louis, and Napoleon (what a clever name LOL), and they lived in a small glass aquarium.  Ms. Smith couldn’t keep them, but they were good company to the science class down the hall from her.

When it comes to Ms. Smith’s favorite things to teach, it’s incorporating Mr. Bett or Historyteachers parody songs.  Anyone who had Ms. Smith KNOWS what I’m talking about.  I can remember learning about the Progressive Era.  The parody was Rihanna’s song “Umbrella” and all I hear in my head is, “Progressive Era Era Era”.  Ms. Smith’s goal for her students is to help them understand that history is relevant, that it is not boring, and that it is an important subject to learn.  She also wants to help them develop skills that they can use beyond the classroom.

Like all of us, Ms. Smith has her favorites outside of school.  Her favorite sports are basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, and football.  From those sports, her favorite teams are the Packers, White Sox, and the Celtics.  She loves watching college sports, especially ones from the University of Miami.  She also looks forward to watching March Madness.  Ms. Smith’s favorite shows are 60 Minutes, Jeopardy, Sportscenter, and anything that’s on HGTV or Food Network.  Her favorite movies are UP, A League of Their Own, Saving Private Ryan (a real tear-jerker if I may add), and Love & Basketball.  Moving onto books, Ms. Smith’s favorites are Sum It Up by Pat Summitt, Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden & Steve Jamison, Night by Elie Wiesel, and The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I just started reading Who is Alex Trebek? by Lisa Rogak.  I definitely recommend Night and The Outsiders.

To wrap it up, Ms. Smith’s only goals for 2021 are, “To stay healthy, and to continue to find ways to connect with students and keep them motivated and engaged during remote instruction.”

Ms. Smith is a wonderful teacher and person overall.  As Bill Gates once said, “Technology is just a tool.  In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important”.