Soraya Haghighatian is a new teacher here at Lively Middle School, and she’s a 6th grade ELA teacher. She moved back here to Austin recently, and I had the chance to interview her in her classroom.
What’s your name and position at Lively?
I’m Ms.Haghighatian and I teach 6th grade ELA at Lively Middle School.
Talk about your education? What degrees or certifications do you hold?
So I went to Texas Tech University, and majored in education with a specialization in English, I am certified to teach 4th through 8th reading language arts, and I have my bachelor’s degree, and teachers certification.
You’re new to Lively. What’s your history in teaching?
Good question, I actually went to AISD schools, I went to Texas Tech University and taught for one year in Lubbock, and I student taught at the school that I taught in. And then I moved back home to Austin. This is my second year as a real teacher.
What led you to Lively?
Well I was originally going to move to San Antonio to live closer to my parents but I changed my mind, and decided to move back to Austin. I missed it, I really missed the city, and I love Austin
so much. And I applied, I got a call, I looked up the school I thought it was super cool, I love the magnet program, I love the diversity, love that it was an old school with a lot of history. So when
I got the call and had the interview I was so excited, and I’m really glad I got it. But definitely just the history behind it.
What do you love about Lively so far?
I love the people, that’s my co-workers, and that’s also the kids that I teach, and the kids in the halls. It looks like everyone cares about each other and I love to see that.
What made you decide to be a teacher?
I really care about people, and I really care about reading and writing. I think learning to communicate is one of the most important things, and I think at this age the age that I teach, that’s when kids get to develop that knack for communication. I really want to be there to foster that for people.
Why do you teach what you teach?I teach ELA because I enjoy reading, I enjoy writing. I didn’t always enjoy reading and writing. It didn’t happen until college is when I really realized that it’s something that I’m good at. And I think that I could have been really really successful if I had found that out earlier in my life, I want to open kids eyes to the beauties of reading and writing and communicating.
What inspires you?
Lots of things, people, my family, my cat inspires me, also my students a lot of times, I’ll be teaching, and they will bring up really cool points. And then I embed it into my next periods lesson. But really just observing, I’m a big people watcher.
What’s the best/worst thing about being a teacher?
The best thing is building relationships with kids. I feel like I’m learning just as much as teaching, which is awesome. I’m trying to be a lifelong learner. The worst part is, it’s a lot of
work at home taking work home is the worst part but it’s ok.
If you could enroll in another teacher’s class at Lively to learn from them, what class would you take and why?
I would take the podcasting class because that is super cool. I love listening to podcasts, and I would love to see what goes on behind the scenes. I think it’s awesome that we offer a podcasting class.
Did you have a favorite subject in school?
My favorite subject was writing but I didn’t think I was very good at it, but I enjoyed it more than math, and history, and science. But I did enjoy it was my favorite class.
What’s one tip you have for your students?
One tip I have for my students is to do your best, and to be yourself. Especially at this age you’re always looking at the people around you, and trying to see what they do to influence what
you do but people like authenticity, and they like people who are themselves.
What is one thing you enjoy doing outside of school?
Outside of school when I have time I love thrifting and antiquing. I love finding things that are old, and putting them in my apartment or giving them as gifts.
What is one place you would like to travel to?
I really want to go to Iran, it’s difficult to get there but I have a lot of family there that I have never met, and that’s where my dad was born, and lived there for 20 years of his life, and I think it would be really cool to meet family I’ve never met before.
What’s one thing you would like for your classroom?
I really want a clicker, so that I can stand across the room, and change the slides. That’s like the biggest thing I think.
Asher • Oct 7, 2024 at 9:09 am
SAMUEL IS NUMBER ONE. Best person in the Lively paper. Keep up the good work buddy
MLK • Oct 7, 2024 at 8:37 am
Let’s go SAMUEL. I had no idea who this was before reading this.