New social studies teacher finds home at Mac
First-year teacher Stockton came to teaching by accident
January 22, 2022
New hire social studies teacher Vaughn Stockton has started his teaching career in the midst of a pandemic.
“I imagine that if I started two years ago, this would be kind of a headspin, but this is normal for teaching for me, I don’t know anything else,” Stockton said. “Honestly, I think McCallum is doing a really good job at accommodating their teachers. I feel they’ve been very helpful in getting us back to what I would assume other teachers are calling ‘normal.’”
Becoming an educator was a “trial and error” process for Stockton. While studying at Texas State, he found a passion for both politics and history, making social studies the perfect subject for transferring that interest into an educational setting.
“I started working with high schoolers just through happenstance really,” Stockton said. “I was a lifeguard through high school and college. Once I graduated, I worked with a bunch of different high schoolers and trained them in lifeguarding and customer service skills. I thought, ‘Wow it’s actually pretty cool, working with people and trying to teach them new skills.’”
That’s when, Stockton said, he began working on his educator’s certificate.
While Stockton had never taught before, he had been working with high school students for the last five years.
What I’ve found as a teacher is it’s a very different interpersonal dynamic than you would find in a workplace. — social studies teacher Vaughn Stockton
“[Being a teacher] is really cool, definitely different than I thought it would be,” he said. “I thought it would transfer the same skill set, same kind of dynamics, but what I’ve found as a teacher is it’s a very different interpersonal dynamic than you would find in a workplace.”
Outside of the classroom, Stockton helps coach volleyball and, when the spring semester rolls around, softball.
“It’s been crazy, very time-consuming but also really rewarding,” Stockton said. “I can tell you as a teacher, it’s definitely a nice change; you go from being in a classroom and having to prepare your lessons, then you get a break from the high stresses of having to maintain 30 people in a small space to focus on a physical activity, so it’s awesome.”
As for the school atmosphere, Stockton feels that Mac is a perfect fit.
“McCallum has this incredible reputation for being a place that offers diversity and ideas that are outside the box,” he said. “When you’re looking as a teacher for where you want to fit in, McCallum, a place that’s very inclusive, appealed to me.”
