At the end of her 16th year as a teacher, Meghan LeBert, 39, is certain that students are the center of a teacher’s profession.

Teaching involves several tasks and responsibilities – paperwork, grading, lesson planning – and “sometimes anxiety-inducing obligations.” But at the core of teaching is the actual act of teaching students, and this is LeBert’s favorite part of the job. Her students are her “calm.”

“The moment my students walk through my door and the tardy bell rings to begin instruction, there is always a calm that washes over me,” she explained. “I know for the next 45 minutes that my students are in a safe space and that we can all be focused on decoding texts without any distractions or stresses from the outside world.”

She graduated from Lafayette High School and moved to Lake Charles to attend McNeese State University to pursue her Bachelor of Arts in English education, certifying her to teach seventh through 12th grades.

For the first seven years of her career, she taught English I, English III, and English IV at Barbe High School. Now, she teaches 10th-grade English II at Sam Houston High School, but she has also taught English I there.

She is also a graduation coordinator.

LeBert did not experience what an English teacher could be until she took Advanced English IV and was taught by a teacher who showed her “what an English teacher could and should be.” She recalled how her English teachers from her first three years of high school were often busy and put her “learning on the back burner.” The teacher from her senior year offered the opposite experience.

“She was there all the time, present in every moment. She encouraged learning through discovery. She was wonderful and very quickly became my inspiration to teach effectively or ‘the right way,’” she said.

This teacher inspired her to become a teacher who could provide the same service to future generations.

“I wanted future students to have a teacher who could and would break down complicated texts and grammar rules to a level all students could understand,” she explained. “Then they could build on to that basic knowledge and form their own opinions and insights into literature and writing.”

But ultimately, she was inspired to become a teacher by one of her brothers.

Her brother is autistic. Since both of her parents worked full-time jobs, she would help him with his homework.

“I quickly discovered I could easily take complex ideas and explain them in a way he could actually understand. I truly thought that since I could do that with him, I could do that with anyone.”

She sets expectations for them at the beginning of the year and maintains them throughout the year. In return, they get consistency from LeBert, and a safe space for any mental health hurdles they may face.

Her students experience this safety in a classroom that is open and understanding.

“My students know we are reading and writing every single day in my class, but they also know that I truly care about their triumphs and successes as well as their struggles.”

She is helping educate the new generation of independent thinkers, as part of her job is to prepare her students for their future where they will carve their own paths. This is especially prevalent in LeBert’s subject.

In an English class, students are exposed to literature and viewpoints from across the world and different periods.

“Once they have collected several different points of view and opinions, they can make their own decision about how they feel or what they think.”

A comprehensive education is vital for students because education is a link that connects communities, she said. She believes teachers are a bridge between students and the general public. Through advocacy, support and encouragement, teachers transform students into contributing members of society.