Career Spotlight: Mr. Marrah
What’s your dream job? What profession do you envision as you mark down your intended major in your college applications? Have you ever thought about education and teaching?
If you haven’t, keep reading this article to get an insight from Mr. Jeffrey Marrah, a History Teacher at Downtown Magnets High School. Aside from teaching, Mr. Marrah loves going out. He would rather “choose outdoors anything with family and friends over indoors everything.” He also loves the sun on his face as he is an active hobbyist in running, triathlon, basketball, and hiking/camping.
We asked Mr. Marrah some questions about his experiences as a teacher. Read his responses below:
What moments made you choose the teaching field?
“Two specific moments include: 1) the impact of a handful of my own teachers through my public-school experience. The adage of any single individual making a monumental impact on students is real; and 2) Having a long-standing, successful career in a separate professional field while wanting to give back as others had given to me coming up.”
What are some of your favorite highlights throughout your teaching experience?
“It's best when students make me laugh, learning from them and seeing that spark of learning when it happens.”
Over the years, were there any lessons that you learned from your student(s)?
“As an adult, even as a teacher, I have found myself presuming students already know XYZ. I'm constantly reminding myself that I'm a teacher and a lifelong learner myself. Never presume as it's ok to check in and see where students' areas of knowledge reside collectively and individually.”
What advice would you give to aspiring teachers and other students who may be interested in entering this field?
“Know and own why you're entering teaching. Read the national headlines today. This isn't a field for the faint of heart. Don't ever forget why you started teaching as it helps to remind yourself when the tough gets going. Impacting a life on the scale of teaching matters.”
Hope that you got something out of his responses! If you are curious and have any more questions, we suggest you ask your teachers and get to know them more in the process!