2 minute read
20 Questions with Eugenie PaickHA
Get to know history-social science teacher Eugenie PaickHA , the longest-tenured teacher in the Middle School.
1 What’s the biggest change you’ve observed since you
started at Castilleja? The Middle School has emerged with its own identity in the last 20 years. In a lot of 6-12 schools, the Middle School (MS) can seem a bit like a waiting room for the Upper School. We have our own grade-level themes, programs, activities that are specific to each age group. The MS advisory teams are amazingly collaborative and creative.
2 What hasn’t changed?
The students. They’re still motivated, hard working, curious, articulate, and willing to learn.
3 Why teach history? I love that to really learn history, you need to incorporate other disciplines. You incorporate math when you look at tables and charts. You incorporate careful reading and writing, as you would in English. You need to understand science to appreciate the inventions and scientific discoveries.
4 When you came to Castilleja in 1998, what challenged you as
a new teacher? Back then, we had these huge photocopiers that seemed to always eat up my originals, put staples in the wrong places, or make copies on the wrong sized paper. I just wanted to master the photocopier.
5 Favorite excuse for not turning in homework/not
being in uniform? Homework: “I left it on the train.” Uniform: “It was SSSSOOO dark when I got dressed.”
6 What does ‘Justice’ mean
to you? Accountability and healing.
7 What do you listen to while driving to school in the
morning? The news.
8 Which of the 5Cs do you feel you incorporate most into
your teaching? Courtesy.
9 Personal note-taking style?
Bullets!
— EUGENIE PAICK
10 Favorite part about Middle
School? The faculty. It’s the kind of group that will see each other through big life moments and advise each other on pedagogy. Nanci KauffmanHA , with whom I used to teach a class, even babysat my toddler son in New York, while we attended a wedding. It’s an incredibly close knit group.
11 Tea or coffee? Mornings are coffee, afternoons are tea.
12 How do you like to spend
your free time? Cook and eat, read, and Pinterest.
13 Favorite period in history?
French Revolution (sadly, I don’t teach it).
14 Favorite Casti Faculty Halloween costume theme?
Anything Mid FullerHA conjures up.
15 Favorite TV show? Favorite
live sporting event? The Crown and indoor ice sports: figure skating, ice hockey, short track.
16 Favorite Casti lunch?
Swedish Meatballs.
17 Your superpower? I can power nap. I can pull off a 10 minute power nap, almost anywhere.
18 Last book you read?
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi.
19 If you could go on a one week trip with anyone in history, who would it be, and
where would you go? Florence and Tuscany with da Vinci. He was under appreciated for his time and so ahead of his time. I’m curious to watch him write in mirror image, watch him paint, and get a glimpse into his genius.
20 Which accomplishment of yours (at Casti) are you most
proud of? Katie Robinson and I won “Minute to Win it” at Middle School meeting, and it’s one of my greatest feats so far. Also, at graduation, faculty are seated by seniority, and I’m finally in the first two rows!
