Let’s take a look at how the longtime and incoming teachers operate.
By Yadira “Yadi” Maldonado, Abbie Blake, Gavin Fish
Staff Writers
This school year has brought with it many new teachers to North Eugene High School. For old times’ sake, and to congratulate some of our new teachers, let’s take a closer look at the differences between new and seasoned teachers.
Teresa Meyers started teaching in the year 2000, after graduating from the University of Idaho. She started at a small Idaho school, where she was the only math teacher in the whole building. Now, 23 years later, she has taught at Spencer Butte Middle School, Roosevelt Middle School, and South Eugene High School before coming to North Eugene High School in 2017 to teach math.
Destiny Mendenhall on the other hand, is newer to the profession. She began her teaching career at North in 2021 as a math teacher.
While both of these teachers have had different experiences leading up to their time at NEHS, they share many beliefs in common. Both teachers confessed that their workload has grown a lot in the past couple of years. Ms. Meyers also said that school doesn’t seem entertaining enough for kids anymore, leading to an increase in disruptive behavior. Despite the challenges, both teachers love their staff and students, saying that compared to other schools, they’ve had an extremely positive experience with the staff and students here.
Now onto a pair of history teachers: Clair Wiles and Christopher Pound.
Mr. Pound is a new history teacher this year, teaching primarily underclassmen. Previously, Mr. Pound taught a 9th-grade Social Studies class at a different school. He believes that both his first class and his current ones are filled with enthusiastic students who are ready to learn. The new school is a building he looks fondly on, and he believes it’s the most “well-designed, fantastic, nicest and most up-to-date school” he’s ever seen.
When prompted about his favorite historical figures, Mr. Pound brought up three; the Roman statesman Cincinnatus, civil rights movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and LA’s Civil rights movement figurehead Willis Edwards.
Speaking of figures in our history: possibly our most beloved teacher, Ms. Wiles, has had an enormous hand in the making of NEHS history. She has been at North Eugene for a combined 25 years, both as a teacher and student teacher. Her first time teaching was as a student teacher helping students who had previously failed their Global Studies class to recover their grades in senior year. Ms. Wiles loves the new building and its facilities, but will always look back on the fond memories made in the old building. Many memories were made, but her favorite was being able to marry her husband in the auditorium at the previous location.
Her favorite historical era was the Cold War. “It has many tentacles into social, economic, and racial issues which we see echoed now,” she says. Ms. Wiles believes what happened over the span of time from 1945 to 1991 can help us understand how our current world works.
Salvador Barajas is a beloved Spanish teacher at NEHS. He graduated with a premed degree and wasn’t planning on teaching, but thankfully wound up here anyway. Sal began teaching here in 2002 and has been here for 22 years. His first year was filled with lots of highlights, with the principal at the time offering him a job right out of the gate of his student teaching. 2002 was a huge year for him — he also got married and was expecting a child. Sal says that he keeps teaching because of all the connections he makes with the kids and making a difference in just a few kids’ lives. “You guys keep me young!” he says.
Danny Trivino is another new-to-North Spanish teacher. He started teaching in 2015 and used to teach middle school Spanish in Junction City. Mr. Trivino loves connecting with students, and said, “I feel like I would be abandoning students that I could have a connection with or help if I stopped teaching.” Thankfully, his biggest obstacle so far this year is getting used to using Canvas and Synergy.
While this 2023-2024 school year brings many changes — both to the staff and the scenery — it will not diminish the enthusiasm and passion of our amazing teachers. These changes present teachers who have been with the North staff for years a new opportunity for growth and experimentation. The new members of our community are joining North Eugene High School at a very exciting and vibrant time in its history.
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