Jill Magnante enjoys a fine balance in last year of teaching
Rohinton Mistry, the author of “A Fine Balance,” says that there is “no such thing as an uninteresting life.” Jill Magnante, the Middle Years Program [MYP] Coordinator and IB Literature teacher at Newbury Park High School [NPHS], is living proof of this quote. As an avid reader, former theater star and Midwesterner, Magnante has no shortage of life experiences to share with her students.
Magnante’s dreams of becoming a teacher began at a young age. “My dad was a teacher, so I would play school and I especially loved when I would get to go to his school and sit at his desk and play teacher,” Magnante said. Although Magnante has always loved teaching, she would have alternatively loved to pursue a Broadway career. “I loved being in the musicals in high school. I was Princess Winifred in ‘Once Upon a Mattress,’” Magnante said.
Magnante originally began in elementary education, but soon discovered that her passion lies in literature. “It lasted about six weeks when I realized that it was the literature class that just absolutely captivated my love of learning,” Magnante said. Magnante hopes that her students are inspired by the literature they discuss in class. “I hope that students walk away understanding that they have the power to be changemakers and to learn from literature and other content areas that really interest them and use that learning for good,” Magnante said.
Most importantly, Magnante hopes that students will engage with empathy as they navigate literature. “It’s so important to really think about the power of people’s stories and where they come from, and the way that learning about those stories helps us to appreciate the roles that they play in our lives,” Magnante said.
Over the years, Magnante’s favorite part of teaching has been making connections with her students. “[I love] the daily interactions with students […] With literature, I love that I don’t necessarily have an end destination because it’s not my job to tell you all what to think. So I have to listen really, really hard to where you’re coming from and think about how I can help you to get further than you would have gotten on your own,” Magnante said.
Magnante bonds with students during socratic seminars, or while they use her coffee station before class, as she aims to develop a personal relationship with students. She recommends that any teacher tries to do this as well. “Invest in kids and care about their well being and success, not just in your classroom, but just as humans, because it makes the work that you’re doing worthwhile,” Magnante said.
Magnante is currently in her last year of teaching, and she is solely instructing the second year of IB Literature, which is no longer offered at NPHS. “I realize that the days are long, but the years are short, and I’m so lucky to get to invest in this small but special class to finish up this IB literature class,” Magnante said.
