Mya Studyvin, a freshman in 21st Century Journalism, wrote this story as part of her final project.

Teachers are arguably the most important facet of civilization.

Parents entrust their children’s minds with teachers so they can gain the knowledge needed to become a functioning member of the public – teachers are, simply put, the foundation of today’s society.

Sarah Pound, a science teacher at Derby High School, agreed.

“I think teaching is pretty important,” Pound said. “If we didn’t have any teachers, the world wouldn’t be very smart.”

Pound has been teaching for eight years – six at Haven High School, two at Derby High School. Over the years, she has gained a lot of experience and knowledge.

“Teaching itself is very important, but so is teaching well,” Pound said.

According to Pound, one of the best ways to be a good teacher is to be connected with your students and be involved in their lives.

“It makes it easier for me to teach my students when I know them,” Pound said. “I know them sitting in my classroom is not the only thing they do in their lives, they’ve got other things going on. So if I understand the activities they’re in or something like that you get a more well-rounded student and build a better relationship with them. If your students aren’t comfortable with you, or if they think that you don’t care about them, then they won’t care about the teacher or the class.”

Pound teaches physical science and energy as well as biology, and has around 60 students this semester.

“She makes everything fun instead of having us sit quietly in her class… she tries to add games or have fun labs,” student Reese Braeger said. “I also trust her as a teacher because last semester I had some problems and I went in and I talked to her about it, and she was very reliable. She’s a very supportive and kind teacher.”

Although Pound has only been teaching at Derby for two years, she has multiple students come in daily to chat and ask questions. She has had multiple students from last year apply to be her lab aid, and students travel to her homeroom almost every day just to see her and talk with her about their day.

“My favorite part about my job is getting to know my students and doing fun things and activities and seeing different aspects of education, and different people’s situations, because everyone’s different,” Pound said. “I have a lot of students that say hi to me in the hallway and pop in during homeroom or just say hi when I see them places, and it makes me smile. My goal is to not impact anyone negatively.”

Sierra Morgan talks about her student-teacher relationship with Pound on a deeper level.

“She has a very inviting personality, and she has a surrounding feeling of acceptance,” Morgan said. “I went to her at a really bad point of my life during this school year and she was the only teacher I felt I had a good enough relationship with to talk to.”

So, at the end of the day, or at least the school day, Pound loves her job, and teaching her students – just as much as they love her.