Teacher’s Pet: Ms. Lauren Karp
By Alec Vick ’15
THE ROUNDUP
Dr. Holland’s Question from December’s “Teachers Pet”: Who is your favorite saint?
Catherine of Alexandria, who is the patron saint of librarians and educators. So totally my favorite saint.
She essentially was a noble woman in the fourth century who was a master of philosophical debate. She would argue with other philosophers who were anti-Christianity.
She supposedly argued with the Emperor of Rome and embarrassed him and thus was killed and martyred.
What made you want to teach English?
I had some really amazing English teachers. I always loved stories so I knew wanted to do something with story and language, but what really made me want to become an English teacher was when I was in high school. I loved my English classes and had some very brilliant teachers and I would actually spend my lunch periods in their classrooms watching Shakespeare movies.
We ended up starting a Shakespeare club and just started talking about ideas and reading everyday we could. So they were really influential and created a safe space to really explore ideas and stories.
What is special about your class?
The fact that I’m a big dork. Hopefully I also end up knowing a lot that is interesting to students where I can help teach skill. I think the fact that I’m silly and probably just goofy in general makes it a fun environment on top of an educational one.
Where did you attend college?
For undergraduate I went to Santa Clara University and for graduate I went to Oregon State. I’m a Bronco and a Beaver.
Who is your favorite author/book?
Shakespeare is probably the obvious answer; if I had to pick one book to take with me on a deserted island it would definitely be the complete works of Shakespeare. I think that he hit on the human condition in a profound way almost before anyone else. There are so many other good authors. I go through phases where I like other authors but Shakespeare is consistent.
Do you have a favorite hobby?
I like to help out with community art projects downtown and I end up, I guess, in a hobbyish place with that. I take a lot of photos. It’s like a side project of mine. But most of my free time is spent goofing around on the Internet.
What range of classes do you teach?
I teach sophomores and seniors. English II and AP English IV.
Pose a question for the next Teacher’s Pet:
If you could snap you fingers and change one thing about the world what would it be?
