SCHOOLS

CRYSTALS:  A former ‘fidget kid’ keeps it real while mentoring newer teachers

Ahead of the Crystal Apple Awards on Feb. 10, Salem Reporter is profiling several educators nominated in 2023. The awards are presented by the McLaran Leadership Foundation and the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce at the Salem Convention Center. Tickets are sold out.

Margaret Hill never sat still in class.

As a child, she would fidget in her seat, bouncing her leg repeatedly until it got tired, then chewing her nails.

Now 44 and a fifth grade teacher at Bush Elementary School, Hill has set up her classroom with kids like herself in mind. Many chairs have bouncy bands stretched between the front legs so students can quietly bounce their feet while doing work, and a few students sit on wobbly mushroom-shaped chairs Hill purchased with a grant.

For those who need to let off a little steam, the hallway outside has a poster with several exercises kids can do – jumping jacks or donkey kicks. Students approach Hill asking to do a “circuit” and can run outside and get their energy out before coming back to class.

“Back then in the 1980s, we didn’t have this kind of stuff,” Hill said. She wants her students to know it’s OK to need a break, while also holding them accountable for learning.

“You still have work to do. We still got to do the thing. But like I get it. I get it,“ she said.

It’s one way Hill tries to be human with her students, something her colleagues praised when nominating her for a Crystal Apple award.

“She’s tender-hearted and is a warm and honest person to staff and students,” wrote Barb Hoptiwitz, a parent and the school crossing guard, in her nomination letter.

Hill began her career as a journalist in her native Ohio, working for two newspapers there before moving to Salem to be the copy desk chief for the Statesman Journal. When she was laid off in 2012, she wanted to keep doing public service work.

Her mind went back to some school visits she’d done through the Marion County Master Gardener program, where she’d presented to kids about plants. The coordinator was a former teacher.

“She said to me at the time, ‘You have a knack for this. Like you just really engaged with the kids really well,’” Hill recalled. She earned a master’s degree in teaching at Willamette University and started at Bush in 2013.

Hill decided early on she’d never be able to pull off a teacher “persona,” and focused on being authentic with her students. She speaks faster as she gets excited, and jumps out of her chair when demonstrating how she’ll high-five a student who works to understand a math problem.

“When I’m working with a kid, and they’re like, ‘I can’t do it, I can’t do it. I can’t do it.’ I’m like, ‘No, listen, listen, you can’t do it yet. You can’t do it yet. I couldn’t do it for a while when I was a kid, I had to learn. You’ll learn it, you’ll be fine.’”

Honesty is a major focus in her classroom. Recently, she went to talk to a student who was goofing around in the hallway outside her class, distracting her students. He suggested she shut the door.

“I was like, ‘Just shut the door? Look, dude, I got 22 fifth graders in here. Do you know how bad it smells after PE in my classroom?…I’m not shutting my door. I have to keep some circulation in here,’” Hill said.

As one of the school’s longer-tenured teachers, Hill makes a point of greeting new colleagues and offering to help with anything they need, whether it’s googly eyes for a craft project or advice about approaching a lesson.

Colleagues praised her ability to help with team lesson planning and willingness to be a guide for others in classroom management.

“No matter the obstacle faced, whether it be a student throwing chairs or another stealing classroom belongings, Mrs. Hill has always seen the student as a human first and addressed their needs with an open mind. She was always celebrating all walks of life and providing equal opportunities and high expectations for her students,” wrote instructional assistant Edna Poton in her nomination letter.

Hill encourages students to let her know when she makes a mistake, and tells them she’ll always do her best to make it right.

“I always tell my students every year, I am THE teacher, but you all are teachers too. You’re going to be teaching me things that I don’t know. Which they do. They keep me up on pop culture quite a bit,” she said.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.