As winner of this year’s Teacher of the Year award, Mrs. Wagner, the Home Economics teacher at Pascack Hills, couldn’t be happier. With much appreciation, Mrs. Wagner says, “it just validates that you’re in the right place doing the right thing.”
When asked about her dream career while in high school, Mrs. Wagner proudly confirmed that she “always wanted to be a Home Economics teacher since [she] was in 6th grade.” Mrs. Wagner’s aunt was also a Home Ec teacher. She taught Mrs. Wagner how to sew and was her greatest source of inspiration.
Mrs. Wagner described herself as being outgoing, nice, and friendly in high school. Like many other girls in her high school, Mrs. Wagner became a cheerleader.
High school for Mrs. Wagner was very different than it is today. Mrs. Wagner says that students most likely had more fun when she went to high school because standardized tests were not as intense. She confirmed that “we had SAT’s, but nobody made a big deal out of it.” Mrs. Wagner doesn’t even remember studying for the SATs. She just remembers waking up one Saturday morning at 8am to take a test; her only worry was making sure that she had four sharpened number 2 pencils.
Mrs. Wagner also explained the story behind the “haunted house” she lives in. There was a murder that took place in the house during the 1970s. However, today, nothing supernatural occurs as a result. Mrs. Wagner jokes that she is the “only thing haunted inside the house.”
Mrs. Wagner wants high school students to “have fun, enjoy [their] high school experience, and don’t worry about getting all A’s.” Mrs. Wagner herself wasn’t a straight A student. She wants students to realize that they can be successful in life, even if they are an average student. She believes high school is the perfect time for students to try new things to see where their interests lie. She strongly believes that “high school should be a time when [students] try different things, when [they] are allowed to make mistakes.”
