On a recent morning in the Lower School, Second Grade Teacher Morgan Johnson was getting ready to explain to her students how to make the covers of the books they had made about dinosaurs. The books, which combined collaborative research with individual illustrations, sported enthusiastic titles like The Magnificent Dino Book, Here Come the Dinosaurs, and Dinos are Awesome!

First, however, it was time for the morning meeting: her students gathered on the carpet and traded high-fives. Johnson then prepared them for the day’s events and began a round of a weekly tradition called “Give and Get.” In turn, each student either gave a compliment to somebody else in the circle or asked to get one. It was a gale-force weather system of positive reinforcement, as second graders praised friends for helping them, for sitting with them at lunch, or for being especially organized during the group dinosaur project. One girl raised her hand and said quietly, “I want to give one to Mrs. Johnson, for being the best teacher I could ever have.”

What’s the difference for second graders between the beginning of the year and the end?

It’s night and day. When they come in, from a social-emotional standpoint, they’re a little more quiet, waiting for you to tell them what to do. But later in the year, they feel safe and they start to exercise that independence. So when we’re doing math, I might give them some more open-ended problems, like a division problem where I haven’t taught them exactly how to do it. The majority of them will jump in and try something, not afraid to fail, because they know that this room is a safe space. At the end of the day, we’re going to teach them how to do that problem, but it’s so empowering if they can figure out how to do it on their own. A big theme of our year is learning how to learn from your mistakes.

I always tell students that my favorite word in the dictionary is “yet.” You can add it to any sentence. By this time in the year, if one of them says “I can’t do this,” the student sitting next to them will say, “You can’t do that yet.”

You were in the Latin class of 2009. What was your experience like as a student?

I feel like Latin raised me. When I was six years old, my dad was diagnosed with ALS. We moved from Arizona to Charlotte so my mom could get some support from her parents, who lived here. He passed when I was 13, but Latin was always my safe space. All the kids and teachers knew what was happening — they let my dad come in for show and tell, and when he lost his ability to speak, he explained to the kids what his voice machine looked like. There was a special place for him in Patten Stadium so he could come to all of my soccer games. Latin provided me with stability and love: it gave me a normal, happy childhood in circumstances that otherwise might not have been that way.

What was it like when you graduated?

From an academic standpoint, Latin set me up for the rest of my life. I went to Washington and Lee University: it was probably a stretch for me academically, but my teachers believed in me and pushed me. Tracey Vanneste, who was my yearbook teacher, was huge in encouraging my love of writing. And my college counselor was Jody Jennings, who told me, “You’re going to go for it and these are the things you’re going to do to help you get there.” School always came kind of easy for me, so I needed teachers to tell me, “You can achieve more if you set your mind to it and you really work for it.” People at Latin saw my potential and wouldn’t let me settle for anything less.

When I went to college, I was not the smartest person in those classrooms. But because of Latin, I had the grit, I had the determination, and I knew how to advocate for myself and get help when I needed it. Washington and Lee opened up other doors, and I got to work at the Today show for a summer, which was super-cool. After that experience, however, I realized that journalism wasn’t the path for me — the news industry can be very cutthroat, and I just wanted to know people’s stories. 

How did you get interested in teaching instead?

At Washington and Lee, I was the education beat reporter on the newspaper. Reporting on the education system, I heard the success stories of teachers who made a difference in students’ lives. I started volunteering at the schools, and I found my purpose and my joy, so I got my master’s degree in teaching. I found what I was looking for — those connections with people — even if it looked different than how I had envisioned it.

What makes you a better teacher now than when you started?

Being a mom. My daughters are four and two now, and ever since having kids, I look at every student in our school and think, “You’re somebody’s Ella, you’re somebody’s Maddie.” It’s such a privilege to teach these kids, and as a mom, I know how it feels to trust somebody with your most prized possession. I try to help every kid to be their best because I know that’s what I would want somebody to do for my own girls. 

What’s different in your classroom this year?

I have a new assistant teacher, Jennifer Domini, and she’s absolutely amazing. She’s like my other brain; I feel very fortunate to have such a strong teaching partner.

Do you consciously think about awakening curiosity in students?

All the time — it’s one of my favorite things to do. This is such a cool age for it, because they are curious about everything. They have so many questions about the world and they’re like little sponges who want to soak it all up. I have one boy in my class who checks out a book from the library any time we’re learning about a new topic — and then he shares facts with the class. I said, “I’ve got a third teacher in here, that’s great.” The second grade team does a great job of finding out what hooks our kids and then digging deeper.

What have you personally been curious about lately?

The Lower School teachers have PLCs — personal learning communities — and my PLC this year has been on AI. I’m very curious about what’s going to happen with AI in the classroom. There’s some scariness to it, but there’s a lot of cool opportunities. The second graders are not interacting with AI, but I’ve used AI to enhance lessons. I have one kid who’s a particularly visual learner, so I can use AI to make individualized charts just for him. Before that, it would have taken me hours to get those materials right — AI has helped me be more efficient so I can meet the needs of my learners better.

Do you have a favorite day of the school year?

Can I name a few? One of my favorite second grade traditions is the Nutcracker Tea Day: the second graders wear their nice clothes and we go see The Nutcracker. While we’re gone, the families turn each of our classrooms into a Nutcracker wonderland. I love contraction surgery — full credit to Katherine Evatt, who brought it to our team. Learning about contractions sounds boring, but our students get excited when you ask them to dress in scrubs and be careful not to lose a patient. And every year, we have an idiom parade. Second graders are so literal, but when they start learning about figurative language and dressing up as their favorite idioms, they get to showcase their knowledge. I love when they make connections: after the parade, I was talking about empathy and I said, “It’s like putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.” And they said, “That’s an idiom!”