When I first sat down in Ms. Owens’ class, I thought she was a serious and focused person. She intimidated me a little. She did not seem to like jokes while teaching class, but I realized later that she is very helpful. Over time, we got to know each other. I learned she is actually a very fun person outside of class.
In high school Margaret Owens says that she worked. She and some friends got a job together in the dining hall. She washed the dishes and was in charge of delivering food. She liked the work because it was fun. She and her friends also went to hockey games together. They had a lot of fun.
Before college, she grew up in Ohio where there was a forest nearby and in the fall, she liked to walk through the park.
Ms. Owens studied at Stanford and her college experience was a difficult one. When she was 18 years old, she moved to Stanford and she didn’t know anyone. She was scared and nervous.
The transition from Ohio to Stanford was difficult for Ms. Owens because she was from a place where everyone knew each other. A big difference Ms. Owens noticed between Ohio and Stanford was economics. She met some people who were privileged and were able to buy expensive things.
At 18, she had to learn to manage her emotions among different people while she was studying. Despite some difficult experiences, she graduated in 2010.
Ms. Owens has taught at Mission high school for 11 years. Ms. Owens said she likes teaching because now she can have more fun with her students.
Ms. Owens can see how she can change her practices so she can support each student to succeed.
“I like the energy that is shared among the students,” and because she learned to manage her emotions herself, that helped her understand and improve the energy of students and teachers.
Ms. Owens told me that to ensure that all of her students are learning she gives exit tickets to see who is learning and paying attention. She takes time to make sure and determine they’re learning and she always explains to her students.
Ms. Owens likes San Francisco. She likes nature and the Latin cultures that are seen throughout San Francisco and, above all, she loves walking on the beach and the forests that surround the city.
If Ms. Owens had the opportunity to teach another class, it would be an economics class to teach us how to manage our money or also computer science.
Ms. Owens is a very focused person. She believes that we all have the potential to learn and change the way we learn.
