Lit Teacher Brings Fresh Energy To The Classroom

By Keegan Schilz

Katie Phillips teaches the classroom with confidence that makes everyone turn their heads and stop talking as soon as she starts to speak. She is kind, inclusive, respectful, and most of all, is vocal about her views. Looking into classrooms in Indian Trail’s hallways will lead you to see that most classrooms blur together; one room after another filled with kids who are glancing at the clock every few moments waiting until class is over. But, on the first floor, all the way in the back of the school one classroom will stick out, not because it looks different but rather, because of the woman teaching the class.

2023 is Phillips twentieth year of teaching, and twelfth at Indian Trail. She comes from a long line of hardworking women who pride themselves on doing the best that they possibly can with whatever job they choose. This is evident in the way she teaches, her students are all highly engaged and many participate in class discussions, even the quiet kids.

“Teaching is easy. I get to do what I love all day. We get to sit and talk about books and stories. And all kinds of elements of literature.” She says. “It’s all of the other stuff that comes into my classroom that affects how I do what I do. The most challenging part is the control or the attempt to control what happens in these rooms. Especially when I know as an educator that it does not benefit kids.”

Even though Phillips runs into frustration in the classroom with new regulations or mandates, she still comes back every single year. She says there is one thing that keeps her returning every year; the people. “Indian Trail has a strong sense of community within the teachers. I come to a place every day where I work with my friends, and I get to talk about and discuss things that I love. Who would want to do that every day? It’s awesome.”

She says the biggest thing she’s learned from being a teacher is “How to be open-minded and have empathy.” Phillips says. “I am in a classroom in a public school, surrounded by people who are not like me, whose everything could be different than who I am.”

“I’ve learned about different people, I’ve learned about different cultures, I’ve learned about different ethnicities, races, and all kinds of different things,” Phillips says.

“Doing that has made me a more open-minded and understanding person in a way that I probably couldn’t have in a lot of other jobs. It’s made me understand people better; that I think is the best thing I could take from teaching.”