On the tenth floor in a room full of bubbling laughter and the faint scrawl of pens, is one of the most beloved and iconic teachers to ever walk these halls: Thomas (AKA Señor) Williams. Known for his unique teaching style and witty humour Williams has been a NAHS legend for the past 17 years. But arguably one of the most important parts of a legend are their backstories, so let’s look into how Williams got to where he is today.
Williams did not start his teaching career with Spanish, but rather with literature which he taught for 12 years. However after living in Columbia for a little while, he decided to transition into teaching Spanish and did so with a different approach than most. Rather than pushing for absolute perfection, Williams understands that making mistakes is a key part of fully comprehending the language. This mindset makes his class a warm, comfortable place that many students have grown to love, giving him the endearing nickname “señor” because of it. He says, “I want to create a safe space where it is okay for students to make mistakes or sound foolish because that is part of learning the language.”
Williams wants students to not only learn Spanish as a language but also pushes them to believe in themselves and their existing knowledge. He explains that one of his biggest pet peeves is when people say that they don’t know Spanish, because everyone knows a little and can build on that. However, he believes that other teachers must be doing a great job teaching Spanish because students know more than they have ever known before!
When looking at what has changed over the years at NAHS, Williams was a sort of trendsetter, an influencer if you may. He implemented cell phone shelves long before it was a rule. A major part of why he did this is because he encourages students to talk to each other rather than add to their ever growing screen time. Even though this decision was met with some grumbling from students, it was a move that created a community within his class from the first day of school.
From rocking the ukulele to juggling different Spanish related objects, Williams never fails to make an environment so fun that students wouldn’t even want to be on their phones, it’s just that engaging! Even when students graduate, Williams will always be remembered as the teacher that changed the limits of what a classroom could be.
