Smith shares love of German, learning at WF

“Work hard so that you can be proud that you did as well as you could at the end of the semester.”

WF's new German Teacher, Leah Smith, answered with a feel-good message when asked what advice she would give to all the students at West Florence. Originally coming from teaching in Virginia, Smith is excited about the new school year, but is still no stranger to hardships and struggles, especially during the pandemic.

“It's a very draining job, especially when you have to do double the work for in-school and the computer,’’ she said. “It was very stressful and I even seeked a different profession as my mental health struggled during this time.”

Even in the face of all of these struggles, Smith perseveres because she understands the importance of her job and the effect she has on her students. She realized she wanted to be a teacher in high school when she had a teacher who had a positive impact on her. This led her to a career in education that she has stuck with since.

“I love this age group; you guys are so funny and are exploring who you are and it’s fun to be a part of that,” she said. “I think I am decently good at teaching and I have wanted to be one for a while so I think it is a good profession for me.”

German is a new foreign language subject at the school, and no one is more qualified than Smith to teach it. She spoke about how she initially learned the language, realized she was good at it, and continued her interest in it. This led her to new heights, with her eventually getting to live in Germany for about a year and a half.

While she likes to have fun in the classroom, Smith did share some of her classroom pet peeves with us.

“I hate cell phones and other tech like Apple Watches during class,” she said. “Learning a foreign language takes you being 100% focused so those distractions really bother me.”

Smith is a well spoken and very kind teacher. She would like to urge her students to remember that teachers are humans just like them, and would like them to be more empathetic to everyone's struggles.