She's at the heart of middle school
Plus: The news of the week — City backs transit plan, votes to buy rail line; Commissioners award manager raise; Charlotte athlete medals at Paralympics; A newspaper carrier's farewell
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A veteran CMS teacher shares her journey through challenges, chaos and memorable moments; ‘I don’t care how much you hem and haw, it still has to get done.’
by Doug Miller
Tonya Harris says middle school students are “misunderstood the most,” which is why she is drawn to teaching them.
“You’ve got to be a little crazy and go with the flow,” she says with a laugh.
As a new school year plows ahead, we checked in with Harris — a veteran educator at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools — to share how the year is going. We wanted to know: What’s changed over the years and what hasn’t in the classroom trenches?
Harris, 52, has been teaching since 1998. She was most recently at Collinswood Language Academy and Turning Point Academy. This is her first year at Kennedy Middle School in southwest Charlotte, where she teaches 7th grade.
Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Tonya Harris, shown here in her classroom at Southwest Middle School in 2018, keeps handwritten thank-you cards and notes from students, saying those are the best gifts a teacher can get. (Photo courtesy of Harris.)
Q: Middle school would be the absolute last age I would want to teach. How do you do it?
I like middle school because they are the ones that people tend to want to be around the least. They are misunderstood the most and they need that extra support, because middle school can be hard.
Q: How are they misunderstood?
You can’t take things personally. One day they love you, and the next they hate you. Sometimes, they’ll go back and forth right there. They have so many emotions going on. They’re all over the place.
Q: What does a new school year mean to you?
The biggest part is understanding the culture of the school, because the kids are going to be the same. How is the climate of the administrative team and how they flow determines all the other things. I like to say it’s like how the marble rolls through the pinball machine with all those guard rails around.
Q: What’s the toughest part been?
Right now, the classroom that I have has no windows. I want the beautiful, large classroom with all the nice pretty windows. That’s not gonna happen. So the classroom I’ve got has tables. I hate tables, but I’ve got tables.
It’s better just to make the best of it and move forward. That’s also a skill that we actually have to teach kids.
Q: How are kids different today from when you started teaching?
The best way to explain is just writing on the board. I can write three lines on the board, like three definitions, and say, “OK, you guys take notes.” They think that I’ve written an entire anthology.
Before, kids were a little bit more resilient. They knew, OK, I just get in and start doing it. Some of that may be due to technology.
Q: How do you meet kids where they are today?
When the kids came here for open house, I gave them a book and said, “OK, put your name in the book. This is your book. You want to be taking notes in the book.” You do not ask them, “Do you like reading?”
We start with two pages one day. Then the next day you add another two pages, then four pages. Then six pages a day, until we finish the book.
I’ll say, “I don’t care how much you hem and haw, it still has to get done.” The hemming and hawing is a lot more than it used to be.
Q: What’s been your most memorable moment as a teacher?
Years ago, I had a student in sixth grade in what was supposed to be a lower-level class in a school that had well over 90% of [students on] free and reduced lunch. They said the kids were behind and couldn’t learn.
Actually, I got in trouble for this. The honors teacher told me that learning the Latin prefix or root words was only for her class.
I asked this student to name a time when you felt incredulous. She said, “I remember when I took the 5th grade EOG and I didn’t think I was going to pass and I did.”
She said, “‘I-n’ — that means ‘not.’ And didn’t you say ‘cred’ means ‘to believe’? So, I felt incredulous.”
And I said, “OK! Look at her!” So it’s moments like that that keep me teaching. If someone wants to learn, I’m going to be there.
Q: What do you wish people better understood about teachers?
It’s not a 9-to-5 thing, and we can’t turn it off when we walk out the door. People will say you need your time and turn it off and you need to separate yourself. You can’t — not when you really care. During the summer, I’m more comfortable working on things and new ideas.
Q: What’s the best gift to get a teacher?
I always say that I like a gift card. I like Target and Starbucks. But the things that I hold onto are those cards that were written with all the misspelled words and everything. A gift card, once it’s used, won’t last.
One of my students is 32 or 33 years old now. He had a birthday, and it popped up on Facebook. Everyone was talking about how he’s a great father and how wonderful he is. I posted that I was so proud of him.
He said, “Thank you. You are the best teacher. You are like my second mom.” That’s the best gift to get.
Contributing editor Doug Miller can be reached at coach@millerswimming.com
Today’s supporting sponsor is QCity Metro, which presents Charlotte’s first Lowcountry Culture Festival! Tickets are on sale. Your ticket includes:
🍤 boundless Lowcountry/Gullah food samplings
🍹 boundless beer, wine & cocktails
🎨 access to our Lowcountry crafters market
⛳️ fun activities like putt-putt and sand-castle building
Learn more about the festival and get tickets before they sell out!
This week in Charlotte: City supports $11.3M more at Eastland; Charlotte FC fans unhappy with prices; 3 hospitalized after Harris Teeter robbery; Charter school closes suddenly
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
CMS test scores: (WFAE) Students’ math scores in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools rose last year, but reading scores stayed flat, according to new data.
Union County charter school abruptly closes: (WFAE) Just before the new school year began, Apprentice Academy in Monroe abruptly closed, leaving 161 students and their families scrambling for alternatives.
Politics
Rep. Kelly Alexander dies: (WCNC) North Carolina Rep. Kelly Alexander, a longtime Democrat representing District 107 in Mecklenburg County, died at age 75.
City backs transit plan, votes to buy transit line: (WFAE) The Charlotte City Council voted 10-1 to spend $91M to buy the tracks for Red Line commuter rail to northern Mecklenburg and to back a referendum to raise the sales tax to pay for expanded transit and roads.
Commissioners give 8% raise to county manager: (Observer) Mecklenburg commissioners voted 6-2 to give County Manager Dena Diorio an 8% raise, bringing her total annual compensation to $545,024.92. A committee found that Diorio’s work “exceeded expectations” for the previous year.
Local news
3 taken to hospital after attempted Harris Teeter robbery: (WCNC) A robbery attempt at a Harris Teeter in on Carnegie Boulevard in the SouthPark area led to several employees being sprayed with bear spray. A man trying to stop the alleged robbery was injured and hospitalized but is now stable.
Additional $11.3M recommended for Eastland: (WFAE) A Charlotte City Council committee recommended approving a request for an additional $11.3M in public funding for the redevelopment of the former Eastland Mall site. This brings the total public subsidy for the project to over $41M.
Business
Construction imminent on the uptown InterContinental Hotel? In this week’s Charlotte Commercial Real Estate Whispers, we get to the bottom of whether a building permit might signal that a long-awaited uptown hotel is coming; what neighbors think of plans to build another 1,000 apartments in SouthPark; the unusual move by the developer of a 23-story office tower in South End to switch leasing companies, and more. Read it while it’s hot!🔥
Disney/DirecTV dispute: (Observer) A dispute over cable fees has resulted in millions of DirecTV and U-Verse customers losing access to Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, SEC Network and ACC Network, just as college football and NFL seasons begin. The channels are available on streaming services Sling, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV.
Sports
Charlotte athlete wins Paralympics silver: (Axios Charlotte) Carson Clough won a silver medal in the men's PTS4 triathlon at the Paralympics in Paris, finishing in 1 hour and 47 seconds. Clough, a Charlotte Latin alum, co-founded Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters in Plaza Midwood.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
Charlotte’s beefed-up luxury steak scene: Charlotte’s dining scene is seeing a rise in high-end steak offerings, with restaurants showcasing expensive Wagyu cuts priced into the hundreds per serving.
Plus: Changes ahead for development ordinance; Survey shows optimism among Charlotte small business owners; Air taxis on the horizon; New on-street parking hours
The farewell to a paper route: A longtime newspaper carrier reflects on the end of her 40-year career as The Charlotte Observer transitions from daily print delivery to digital-focused distribution.
Rebecca “Becky” Allison played a small role in the Manhattan Project, unknowingly typing notes for the initiative that built the atomic bomb, dropped by the U.S. on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She passed away on April 29 at 99.
Transit plan could be a windfall for Mecklenburg’s towns: Despite not being directly served by the proposed transit expansions, the town of Mint Hill seems ready to approve Charlotte's transit plan due to the promise of $6M annually for road improvements, reflecting a broader trend among Mecklenburg County towns that back the plan to a large degree for its potential road funding benefits.
Charlotte FC fans concerned over ticket price hikes: Some Charlotte FC fans are unhappy about the rising costs of season tickets, permanent seat licenses and concessions, with many feeling that the value of their investment isn’t justified.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman