“I grew up in this area. So, for me, it was really a lot like coming home.”
When Brittany Griffith landed a teaching position at Harris Middle School, it was a full-circle moment for her.
She grew up in the neighborhood. In fact, if Harris had been built when she was younger, she probably would have been a student there. Even now, Griffith lives close enough to Harris that she could literally run home for lunch if needed.
“The people here are unmatched. The people I went to high school with, a lot of them are still here and I am teaching their kids. It just felt like I was always supposed to be here.”
Griffith’s path to teaching at Harris started as a student in D’Anne Redmon’s 10th grade English class at MacArthur High School.
The connections Redmon helped her students make between literature and life captivated Griffith.
It gave her a direction.
It gave her a purpose.
It gave her an understanding.
“Every day I come in here and I could very well be completely altering the way that this person’s life goes. What we do here makes a huge difference. The number of kids that have graduated high school and come back and say, ‘I wanted you to know that I went to college. I wanted you to know that the things that you taught us and the things that you said were important, and I’m using them.’ There’s no other job on the planet that could offer this type of ability to change the future.”
So, for the past six years, Griffith has been making a huge difference from a Harry Potter-themed English class full of books, niffler stuffies and magic. But Griffith isn’t just developing her students and changing the world through literature, she’s also helping her students through dance. As Harris’ dance teacher, Griffith gets the opportunity to share another one of her passions with her students. Playing popular songs students enjoy in a mirror-lined classroom, students let loose and learn.
In dance, Griffith builds relationships while her students build confidence.
“It’s really nice to have that elective relationship with the kids. You’re able to push them in a physical capacity and develop grit in a way that you can’t necessarily in an English classroom. The way that they open up and express themselves and allow themselves to try something new in the dance room is really nice to see. “
From "Number 4 Privet Drive" to “5,6,7,8”, Brittany Griffith is helping students discover their passions the NEISD way.
