Yaffa Hill, 33, loves inspiring her students as an English teacher.

After growing up in Baltimore and spending time studying in Israel, Hill returned to Pikesville and attended Towson University.

There, she double majored in English and Secondary Education. Now, Hill works at Yeshivas Mekor Chaim as a ninth, 10th and 11th grade English teacher.

Yaffa Hill and her family live in Pikesville. The Hills belong to Kehillas Ohr Yisrael.

When did you realize you wanted to be a teacher?

I knew since I was 12 years old that I wanted to teach. I gave a presentation two weeks into school [in 12th grade] on a summer reading assignment. We read “The Count of Monte Cristo” and every student got a topic and had to present a little lesson. Mine was incredibly intricate and interactive. My teacher pulled me aside after class and said, “If you don’t become an English teacher, there’s something wrong.” So, now I knew what I wanted to teach.

In Towson, I double majored because I wanted to make sure that I knew the content that I would be teaching, as well as strategies and psychology behind the actual practice of teaching. I did it in three years. I was incredibly busy. It was quite a heavy load and I loved it.

Where did you begin working after graduation?

I student taught in public school. The intention was to teach in public school long term. But, when it came time to work in the public school system, funds were cut that year. As a result, public schools needed to let a lot of the newer teachers go. They couldn’t sustain the number of staff members.

It became a bloodbath to find a job, because not only were we competing against current graduates who were also looking for jobs, but now there were teachers who had at least a couple years experience on us, and it was almost impossible to find a job that year.

When Yeshiva of Greater Washington called me two weeks before school was supposed to start and I still hadn’t found a job, I went and gave a model lesson. I got through seven minutes of my model lesson, and the principal was like, “Absolutely, we want you.”

What is your favorite part about teaching English?

I love helping students realize that they can do much more than they realize. Writing is very challenging for people, especially since we’re living in the technological age where everything is immediate and working hard is very challenging. They end up becoming much more mature and capable.

I also love pulling their creativity out and helping them find their potential.

What is something you noticed going from an all-girls school to an all-boys school?

One thing that I actually miss a little bit now that I am in an all-boy school is that I definitely had much more opportunity to be a close mentor for girls because we are of the same gender.

Now that I’m in an all-boys school, there are boys who will come and talk to me because sometimes they’re struggling with certain things and might not feel as comfortable going to a rabbi about it.

It’s a little bit different being a female in an all-boys school. I always loved having that intimate connection with students.

How do you separate your identity as a parent and as a teacher?

I always said that, first and foremost, I want to be a mom. My passion is to be a teacher, but my dream is to be a mom. I don’t want my job to overshadow my role as a mom. I think that the values that I have as a teacher and the techniques I would use as a teacher are things that I would use as a parent.

I certainly try and make sure that my job stays in the job hours and that my dedication and focus on my kids is on my kids when I get home.

Is there anything else you want to share?

This new generation is facing challenges that none of us ever faced before. To be honest, I
don’t know how I would have fared if I were growing up in this time. It is really, really difficult to have programs like AI thrown in your face making it so easy to cheat and plagiarize.

We’re living in the TikTok generation where everyone wants to be an influencer because they see they have wealth and materialism, and it looks so exciting and desirable. Who doesn’t want that fame?

There’s so much allure out there that is pulling these kids. They are facing demons and battles that are so huge compared to what we had to do.

Shira Kramer is a freelance writer.