Meet the New Teacher: Mrs. Travers

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WHBHS’ Newest French Teacher

Morgan Laube, Staff Writer

Fifty, yes 50 years ago, Mrs. Travers, WHBHS’ newest French teacher, began her teaching career. When she first began teaching in 1966, the Beach Boys just started being played on the radio, the Rolling Stones were on tour and the US was in the middle of the Vietnam War with President Johnson leading the country.
Farmingdale Elementary School was Mrs.Travers’s start to her extensive teaching career. Soon after, she went to teach six more schools including Liver Pool Middle School, Ocean Side High School, and a school in Oswego, NY. She worked at Wading River Middle School for an astonishing 25 years and Ross High School for 16 years.
Retirement is not even an option due to her love for teaching. “It keeps me young,” Mrs. Travers said. At her previous schools she has taught French and Spanish. Here, she is the leave replacement for French teacher Mrs. O’Hara. “What I love about WHBHS is students here, they’re really beautiful and respectful,” she said.
As a freshman in high school, Mrs.Travers wanted to be a math teacher but once she was allowed to take a language she fell in love with French. She described her teacher as “helpful and inspiring” which helped guide her way to her teaching career.
“Coming to WHBHS, kids are highly motivated in this school and I think it’s very wonderful,” she said. From her many years of experience, students have dramatically changed over time. Before she took five years off to raise her two daughters, who are now 40 and 44, she described students as ambitious, hardworking and dedicated. Now, she finds many students have a lack of effort, less motivation, and don’t care as much as they used to.
One of Mrs. Travers’s favorite things to do besides teach French is travel the world. Southern France is number one on her list of places to travel to. In 1968, she set off alone on a two month trip to France, Italy, Switzerland and England. Travers began her journey in Brussels and drove throughout France, then continued through Switzerland, Italy then England. After spending years studying and teaching French culture, she finally got the opportunity to experience it herself.