Anna Williams, SuperTeacher
25,000 Classes and Counting
A version of this article originally appeared in the Carmel Pine Cone issue of October 28, 2022.Anna Williams is no Laura Ingalls Wilder — at least not in this way: she didn’t grow up dead set on becoming a teacher. And yet she has taught more than 25,000 classes in her career.
NOTE: I came up with that figure by multiplying 30 years of teaching five classes per day by 180 days of school per year (30 X 5 X 180 actually equals 27,000, so even after subtracting vacation, sick, and training days 25,000 is probably a conservative estimate).How did that come about, when she says, “Teaching was never on my radar. I was terrified of being the center of attention”?
The same way any metamorphosis is completed: gradually. One decision led to another, and each bit of forward progress led her a step closer to the classroom.
To begin with, Williams studied child and adolescent development at Stanford. On returning home, she helped coach girls volleyball at Carmel High. Finding that she really enjoyed working with young people, she considered becoming a school counselor. On hearing of that, one of the counselors there suggested that she earn a teaching credential, as counselors sometimes needed to step into classrooms. She followed that advice and earned the certificate.
Williams didn’t want to teach at the high school level because she, although twenty-seven, could still be mistaken for a high school student, and that intimidated her. She chose to teach at the middle school instead. She explained this decision by stating:
“Middle school is my jam. Though I have a multiple-subject teaching credential and could work at the elementary level, teaching history is my other jam. Middle school was the best fit, and then I discovered that I love middle school kids. I’d never want to relive my own middle school years, but I adore being immersed in the energy, openness, and wacky humor of 7th graders. They keep me in the moment and laughing daily.”
After acknowledging that ages 11-14 can be “really rough” for both students and their parents, she says that middle school doesn’t have to be angst-filled — it all depends on the particular circumstances. Williams added that if one is in the ideal situation (which she considers Carmel Middle School to be), the age is not the challenge. The most important thing, she says, is that the adults on campus deeply care for and connect with their kids.
Williams’s methodology to reach students who are not particularly motivated to learn is to connect with them as people first. She does this by finding out about their interests and exploring the commonalities between the interests they have and the subject she is teaching (world history).
That she has been successful in reaching students is borne out by an experience she had one day as she entered the classroom and saw that someone had defaced the door with what she at first assumed to be graffiti. After grabbing some cleaning supplies, she read the message: “You are the best teacher.” It was signed with the initials of a student that Williams wasn’t sure she had reached.
As for the most rewarding elements of the job, Williams said, “Seeing when kids understand a new idea” and “Watching kids care for each during a challenging situation, be that academic or real life.”
Her favorite day in the classroom? She had the quintessential optimist’s reply to that question: “Tomorrow — I have a lot of snapshot moments of great days, but I always look forward to what’s coming up next.”
Williams doesn’t have many full-time teaching tomorrows left, though. She will be retiring from Carmel Middle School at the end of this school year, where she has taught for more than a quarter of a century (and which she attended as a middle school student).
As to the changes she’s witnessed over the course of her teaching career, Williams said that students are the same. What has changed is that “Thirty years ago students didn’t have so much stuff — devices, super-attractive distractions, access to what’s happening in the wider world. Competing with all that stuff has added another layer to classroom teaching. We use apps that engage students, gamifying parts of the curriculum, so to speak.”
As an obviously successful and popular teacher with both students and fellow staff members — when I contacted some school personnel, asking them who they would recommend I write this story about, she was the unanimous choice — I wanted to hear what advice Williams would give new teachers. Her response was: “Learn from your colleagues and be flexible. As precious as your prep periods may be, spend time in other classrooms, observing your peers and seeing what your students experience in other subject areas. Whenever I go into my colleagues’ teaching spaces, I leave wishing I were a student in that class. In fact, when I retire I hope to become a student once again, perhaps at Monterey Peninsula College.”
I asked Williams if she would recommend teaching as a profession. Her answer: “For those who like a dynamic work environment, and get energized by being with groups of people, teaching is a fantastic profession. I have taught 7th grade world history five times a day for over 30 years. You’d think I’d get bored, but I don’t, because the people who walk in the door vary in their personalities, interests, and group dynamics.”
Among many other projects and programs, Williams has served on committees when candidates for teaching and administrative positions at Carmel Middle School are being interviewed. To identify the sort of teacher she wants to endorse, she learned from retired Carmel High School Principal Karl Pallastrini to look for a “spark,” which can include not just the candidate’s enthusiasm and energy, but also that they have a sense of humor; additionally, she takes into account what sort of activities or interests they are involved with outside of teaching.
I asked Williams if there are any misconceptions about teaching or teachers that she would like to address, or clear up. She replied, “We’re in this profession to help kids grow, period. Those who try to pin another agenda on us are mistaken.”
In addition to possible further education, Williams plans to stay busy in her retirement by volunteering at the middle school and as a docent at Carmel Valley Historical Society — speaking of which, Williams’s family has figured prominently in Carmel history for quite some time:
Marjory Lloyd, a former editor of the Pine Cone, was Williams’s grandmother; Lloyd was interviewed about life in Carmel by the LA Times a little over 37 years ago: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-26-mn-26399-story.html
Williams is the namesake of a great-grandmother, Anna Hatton. This earlier Anna’s father was prominent local rancher and dairyman William Hatton. Carmel Middle School is located on land the Hattons once farmed. The Carmel Valley Historical Society has an extensive collection of Hatton family items that are on exhibit in the Hatton Victorian Parlor in their History Center in Carmel Valley Village.
Anna Hatton eventually married into the Martin family, one of whom, John Martin, was also a rancher and dairyman. He is featured on the web site of the Carmel Heritage Society, in the 1850 section. The Martins operated Mission Ranch (which is currently owned by movie actor/director/producer Clint Eastwood) in the 1850s.
So, it probably goes without writing that Williams’ roots extend deep and wide in Carmel. Members of her family were friendly with Carmel poet Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) and local author John Steinbeck (1902-1968).
After talking to her, I wished that I could turn the calendar back and attend Carmel Middle School with Williams as my teacher.
Read and download other writings of mine here.