Although he is quiet and prefers to stay on the sidelines, Salem High School English teacher Mark Carter is often a favorite teacher among seniors.
He said people would describe him as “old and wise. I think people perceive me this way because I relate to the students and understand where the students are coming from and know that the students have good intentions in life. And I’m just old.”
Carter said he thinks being able to relate to students is important. “As a teacher, I feel that it is not only important, but I am responsible for being able to understand and relate to the students so I can help them learn and grow into individuals.”
When asked if he had another career path in mind if he didn’t become a teacher, he said, “Yes I would’ve become a librarian.” He said he likes “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte because he relates to the main character as she is very self critical.
Carter said he had many good influences in his life, which led to him becoming a teacher. “They were teachers and I was able to relate with them and I wanted to put good out in the world just like they did," Carter said.
He hopes that students leave SHS knowing that he appreciates them as people and they’re not just names on a list. He also said he wants the students in his class to be able to like literature more than what they did before his class. Carter said that teaching doesn't ever get hard. ”It's my passion, but politics and the way of teaching sometimes causes interference which makes it hard to teach and get through the lessons planned from week to week.”
When he retires, Cater wants to travel. “I want to take a boat trip from Amsterdam to Budapest, then Iceland and Ireland.”
See the SLNN interview with Carter here: