Even though she thought she would not become a teacher, Noë Klein is in her ninth year of teaching and is excited to be a part of the SCHS community as a new 10th grade English teacher.
Klein previously taught at Prospect High School, Campbell Union High School and Ukiah High School as an English and Spanish teacher. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages and Literature from California Polytechnic State, San Luis Obispo, as well as credentials in English, Spanish, Dance and English Language Acquisition.
Set off to be a doctor, Klein decided against it when she realized that working in sterile hospital environments was not for her. After deciding not to be a doctor, she studied abroad over the summers in Colombia and Bolivia through the program AIESEC, a non-profit for leadership experience through internships.
Klein applied to AIESEC’s teaching program on a whim. However, as soon as she entered her first classroom at Atascadero High School as a student teacher for English 11 and AP Literature and Composition, Klein knew that teaching was what she wanted to pursue.
“The first day that I walked into the classroom as a student teacher in August, I was like, ‘Oh, this is school; this is where I’m supposed to be,’” Klein said.
Klein believes that high school is a time for changes in thinking and mindsets. She has discussions in her class about life and different pathways and appreciates how students are able to have varying perspectives of topics as they grow.
“I think for so long, especially when kids are in middle school, there’s a lot of, ‘Well, my parents say the world works like this, so this must be the way the world works,’ and once you get to high school, it’s like, ‘Oh, well, my parents say the world works this way, but I’m seeing all of these other things, so maybe I can reframe,’” Klein said. “You’re sort of reframing your own world view, and I think that’s a really special thing about being in high school.”
For this school year, Klein is excited for Lit Circles, where small groups discuss a piece of literature. She is especially looking forward to it because of her love for reading. Klein always has a book that she is reading and enjoys sharing them with her students.
“For me, reading is getting to travel without actually having to leave my couch,” Klein said. “You’re sort of traveling and transporting yourself into somebody else’s life and seeing those perspectives.”
Klein is also passionate about dance. She hopes to eventually bring a performing arts style dance course to SCHS.
“I have been dancing since basically I could walk,” Klein said.
Although Klein had originally set out to be a doctor before finding teaching, she loves what she does.
“We (teachers and students) get to have all these really cool conversations about life and the way that the world works. I get to see teens really decide their own thinking path,” Klein said.