Teaching Moms

It’s hard to be a mom. And, it’s even harder being a working mom. Balancing the responsibilities of motherhood with those of your career is challenging. Factor in societal expectations of mothers, mom guilt, and job demands,  and you have an incredibly stressful situation. We’d like to celebrate all the working mothers at CHS, and have highlighted these four individuals.

Mrs. Pierce teaches English and sponsors yearbook.She is currently expecting and has a 2-year-old. Mrs. Pierce decided to pursue a career in education after majoring in engineering. She was tutoring math, then realized she loved helping students understand. In her opinion, she spends more time with the kids at school during the week than her daughter. Lastly, Mrs. Pierce explained when you get frustrated at school you often get frustrated at home. You might try not to, but emotions don’t just turn off. It is a constant juggling act.

Mrs. Collier is a U.S History teacher at CHS, and so is her husband. She has always wanted to be a teacher, and she loves history! She believes children are worthy of being taught and she wants the best for them. Her children are 8 and 10 years old. She does spend more time with students than her children. During the weekend she spends her time shopping for groceries, selling girl scout cookies with her daughter, and cooking. She has a robot vacuum to make life easier, but it’s not effective when you don’t have time to clean the floor for it to do its job. She is also working on her Masters in History, so she spends her Tuesdays and Thursdays writing essays. On top of all of that, she has to grade papers. When she has a bad day, she doesn’t let it affect her home life. The presence of her kids and husband makes her more positive when having a bad day.

   Mrs. Bullock is also a working mother at Collierville High School who teaches junior English. Her son, Gabriel is 13 years old. Mrs. Bullock expressed that time management is something she must focus on. Her son runs track, cross country, and on top of that she must have time to help him with homework. Although he doesn’t go to school here, she feels she spends equal amounts of time with him and her students. When she is having a bad day, she doesn’t let that affect her home life because she is able to compartmentalize her professional career and her role as a parent. Mrs. Bullock was in law school before becoming a teacher, but she found it boring. She enjoys  seeing children grow and that is what makes her motivated to be the best teacher possible.

  Another working mom at CHS is Mrs. Ragle. She teaches 10^th grade English and is the Basketball Cheer Team sponsor. Her daughter, Micah, is 9 years old, and she said she absolutely spends more time with her students than her own child. She loves breaks because it gives her more time at home. During breaks she enjoys spending time with her family and resting. Her favorite vacation destination with family is Pensacola, Florida.

Mrs. Ragle became a teacher because she loves English and enjoys interacting with young people. She also wanted a job that provides breaks within the calendar year. The prevalence of crime in our community is one thing that motivates her to teach. “Crime motivates me because I do not want ANY of my students to be criminal. I also say that the children are the future and I want them to be successful. I strive to show students that they can be successful, IF they put forth their best effort,” she said.