Every teacher brings new ideas and thoughts to their schools, and every year a new batch of teachers arrives at each school with their own experiences and ideals. One of the new teachers this year at Chamblee is Ms. Angela Hornsby, who teaches ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). Although this is her first year at Chamblee, this is Hornsby’s fifth year of teaching.
“My graduate degree is in English Education and I did an ESOL endorsement. My first job after grad school was in ESOL and I really didn’t expect to go with ESOL, but I love that I did because I think it’s the best-kept secret of education. The kids are really sweet, the parents are really sweet, small class sizes, so I get to give them more individualized instruction. I just think ESOL is the best. ” said Hornsby.
Her start to education was not what she had dreamt of originally, and although even she would have never expected to end up where she is today, Hornsby couldn’t be happier with her students or her career. Her first year in education was during Covid, causing her to struggle in keeping the students engaged and interested in what she was teaching.
“My biggest accomplishment in teaching is that I’ve made it this far. My first year teaching was during Covid, and so being able to survive what happened to education during Covid and make it out on the other side and still love to teach and what I do is my biggest accomplishment,” said Hornsby.
When choosing where to teach, Hornsby had a difficult time, but ultimately chose Chamblee High School because of its established reputation and amazing faculty and students.
“Honestly, the people who work here really care and are very supportive and so it’s really nice to work with the people and every classroom has windows and that is just amazing,” said Hornsby.
Not only does she love Chamblee and her students, but she also loves what she does. Each year comes with new students, and Hornsby can find new and innovative ways to motivate her students to learn in a fun and productive environment.
“My teaching style is pretty creative. I do a lot of group work so it is not just individual work or high pressure,” said Hornsby.
Outside of school, Hornsby has a creative touch with many hobbies such as knitting and quilting: her grandmother even taught her how to cross-stitch. She is also a whiz in the kitchen and on top of it all she loves to play with her two kids.
“I’m an old lady crafter, which means I like to quilt, knit, and cross stitch. I do all the old lady crafts. My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was twelve, so I’ve been doing that for a long time. That’s my biggest hobby. I also like to cook and hang out with my kids,” said Hornsby.
Hornsby is a dedicated mother and teacher to both her kids at home and the kids in the classroom every day. She has lots of experience with kids of all ages, her own children being a year and a half and eight months old.
Hornsby has many goals of her own to help her learn and grow as a teacher.
“My biggest goal would be to have every student pass my class because they learned so much,” said Hornsby.
Overall, Hornsby is very excited to see what exactly Chamblee and all its students and staff have to offer her this year.
“You just find out what your students care about and what they’re good at and if you can create a lesson or assignment based around what they’re good at then they’re going to be invested in what you do,” said Hornsby, “It’s about how can we come together and create something great with what we’ve learned.”
