Westminster has seen its fair share of new teachers arriving and old teachers leaving. But what about teachers that have left and come back? There aren’t many teachers that can say that they worked here over 21 years ago. But Middle School math teacher Shelly Anderson can.
Math students in Anderson’s classroom might know her as a new teacher to Westminster, but she’s not as new as she seems. Anderson actually started her Westminster journey over two decades ago. This fall, we welcomed her back after a 21-year hiatus.
In some ways, Anderson finds herself in the “exact same role” now as she was two decades ago. She coached the Varsity Girls Basketball team the first time she was working at Westminster, and she is a part of that program now. She also continues to teach Middle School math. During her time away, Anderson worked at Lovett as a math teacher. However, she has sons who attend Westminster, so she came back this year because “my family is here.”
Anderson finds that much has changed in her time away. Computers weren’t used for teaching nearly as much 21 years ago as they are now, and this year Anderson is learning how to teach with Desmos, a graphing and math lesson platform for students. But what’s her take on all of these new changes? All of them are new to her; in fact, she says that “this is the first time I’ve ever used [Desmos].” This new computerized style of teaching has made Anderson’s teaching and lesson planning easier. “Teaching with Desmos and technology has made my life easier . . . I’m not constantly writing down problems. It does make my life easier,” she says. Before her students had personal computers and the internet to use for teaching, however, teaching lessons was a bit of a hassle. Most assignments were manually written down, and learning wasn’t nearly as interactive.
Desmos isn’t the only new addition to Westminster that wasn’t around 21 years ago. Even the campus has changed. The administration and admissions building, Barge Commons, and the campus parking deck are new, too. Anderson enjoys the parking deck and thinks that it is very useful because of how accessible it is from Clarkson. “The parking deck is great because it’s so easy [to get around]; you always have a parking space.” Anderson also thinks that Barge is a resourceful new addition to Westminster. “It’s just amazing…” she says, “it’s the biggest difference from when I was here…”
Anderson looks forward to Blake Hall, which is being built in place of Scott Hall, the building she used to teach in. As with the parking deck, Anderson also thinks this new building is a wonderful idea. Since Upper Schoolers and Middle Schoolers will be so close, Anderson believes that the Upper Schoolers’ presence will be beneficial to the Middle Schoolers and that it will be great to be more connected. “We’ll be able to collaborate more,” she says. “I always think it’s great when we’re not so divided, and I think the Upper School students will be there as role models for the Middle School students”.
Even though Anderson thinks that Westminster has changed for the better, she misses some aspects that have phased out of the community. The one thing Anderson says she’d change back to the way it was all those years ago is “the fried chicken they used to make [for lunch].”
Shelly Anderson has been a great new addition to our Westminster community (twice), and she’s made a lasting impression and legacy that most of us will remember for a long time.