Golden Apple Award: Abigail Guarneiri East Ridge High School
EAST RIDGE, Tenn. (WDEF) – The best teachers have a knack for inspiring their students. Abigail Guarneiri brings love and compassion to her classroom every day at East Ridge High School. So, we decided to bring her this week’s Golden Apple Award.
Juan Moreno is the Principal at East Ridge.
He explains,” Miss Guarnere is a wonderful English teacher here at East Ridge High School. She does a phenomenal job of planning worthwhile lessons that engage the kids not only in something that’s going to be meaningful to them, but also something that they can connect to the outside world.”
He continues, “Now, one of my favorite lessons is when she was using a speech by Malala, and she was using her kind of perseverance and kind of her turbulations and her obstacles that she overcame. And then the kids were able to see themselves in some of those obstacles and also kind of connects to the lesson, which was really neat to see.”
When asked to describe herself, Ms. Guarneiri, “I’m first and foremost a mother. I’m a wife. And number three, I would say I’m a teacher. I love my job. This is my 9th year teaching, and I never want to do anything else. Who inspired you to become a teacher? So, actually, it was my 9th grade English teacher. I’ve always loved literature and reading, but she just, like pushed me to become a better version of myself, and I wanted to inspire kids the way she inspired me.”
Steven Vasquez is a sophomore at East Ridge.
He says, “Ms. Guarneiri is a very, very nice teacher, and she teaches pretty good. Like you can understand when she teaches. Like I can understand.”
Ms. Guarneiri chips in, “I like that. Every day is different. I never know what I’m going to expect from my students. So, even though I’m teaching the same lesson multiple times a day, there’s always something different because of my kids. It is the most fulfilling job in the world because my students inspire me probably more than I inspire them, and they make me want to be a better person every day. Every day we’re reading, every day we’re writing, and then every day, I really like them to work together.”
Sophomore William Hitchcock beams, “Miss Skinner is a very great teacher. She’ll push you to do your work, and if you know you’re not feeling great and you don’t really want to do work, she’ll push you and ask you you’re all right and stuff. She’s very meticulous that, like about teaching, she covers everything that’s important down to the last detail.”
Ms. Guarneiri concludes, “You know, I do think that reading and literature gives them the ability to open up so many doors that they wouldn’t have had before. And I think, you know, having that solid foundational skill is just really important for next steps in life. I just want them to remember that I cared about them and that I wanted them to do their best.”
