Since she was little, Akita Banger-Gray knew that teaching was in the cards for her future. “I’m from a line of teachers,” she says. “My aunt was a teacher, and my mom as well. Those are my icons. My mom was fresh out of college when she became a teacher. That’s kind of my same story. I was fresh out of college when I started teaching.”
Banger-Gray, who spent a year teaching at Southside High School and the next 22 years at Whitehaven High School, attended college at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for her undergrad. She then went to Union University for her master’s in education. While there, Banger-Gray began looking at ways that writing could intersect with other subjects.
“I try to get the kids to understand that reading and writing go hand in hand,” she says. “They write about events that are going on right now. So sometimes this can feel like social studies class a little bit. It encompasses everything.”
Though Banger-Gray teaches both literature and writing at Whitehaven High, writing holds a special place in her heart when it comes to teaching. “You can use writing as an outlet,” she says. “Sometimes you can write down things that you can’t vocalize. Sometimes you can release your feelings through your writing.”
Her approach to writing in the classroom ties in with the way she sees herself interacting with her students. One thing that’s important to her is for her kids to see their value and to respect the values of others in her class, even when they disagree. Part of that means writing down their thoughts and being able to articulate their feelings.
“You can use writing as an outlet. Sometimes you can write down things that you can’t vocalize … you can release your feelings through your writing.”
“I like for my kids to respect others and respect others’ opinions,” she says. “Everything is not a debate. You have to respect what they said, whether or not you agree with it. I want my class to be as inclusive as possible and exclusive of none.”
A core part of Banger-Gray’s classroom is building a rapport with the students with whom she works. She and her students bond. They joke around and talk about life, and she tries to be an outlet for their worries.
“I like to build a relationship with my students because that’s very important,” she says. “Sometimes, because of something that happened, that negative emotion can overflow into the classroom. It may have happened in school, it may have happened at home.
“Sometimes you get kids who come to school and they’re crying. As the teacher, you have to deal with those issues or help them to deal with the issues. When you build that relationship with the kids, they’re more prone to talk to you and let you know what’s going — because a lot of kids don’t; they’ll just lash out because it’s all they know.”
Through her two decades of teaching, Banger-Gray has found it’s something that requires a deep love of the profession — and the students.
“You have to love these children unconditionally, because they come from all different backgrounds,” she says. “Low, high, or in the middle, you’ve got to treat them all with respect and listen to all of them. You can’t do it unless you love them.
“Children can feel your energy. If you don’t love them, if you’re just coming for a paycheck, they know that. But if you’re coming in and giving your all, they know they can come to you. “[It’s also important] to realize that all children are different. It’s not just a cookie-cutter. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. There are always some gray areas, and you’ve got to be ready for them when they come.” ⎢
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