On floor seven of an 11-story building, a room exploding with color stands out from the rest. Within that room, Caitlin Tripp can be found drowning in a never ending pile of tests, lecturing passionately, or enjoying her time away from the boisterous sophomores. A favorite among many students here at North Atlanta High School, she teaches AP World History. Between her cozy room and her kindness towards all, she certainly stands out among many teachers.
From a young age, she had a strong attraction toward history. She strives to engage students in history to explore the beauties of the subject. Her ability to spit out any fact on the spot about something that happened thousands of years prior is remarkable. Her face lights up as soon as the lectures begin creating a strong learning environment. Having a teacher who truly loves their job and strives to develop students is significant to one’s learning career. Influenced by how she was taught history at a young age, she strives to become a teacher that impacts students forever. “I had multiple history teachers that were phenomenal and inspiring,” said Tripp.
After COVID-19, exam scores began to rapidly drop. Students lost all motivation, teachers got out of their teaching habits, and the information became difficult to teach virtually. In the past couple of years, Tripp has introduced new methods to prepare students to cure all anxiety about the AP World exam. Exam study projects, engaging assignments, bootcamps, and class companion have all raised scores. “I think students last year really worked their heart out, especially at the boot camps and on class companion to get high scores on the exams,” said Tripp.
Her shining interest in each topic of history is obvious as she smiles from ear to ear, begins to drop history jokes left and right, and starts explaining random but important background information. Her favorite type is women’s history, as Tripp strongly believes that the topic does not receive enough attention, especially for how vitally important it is. For years, she has been fighting to put more women’s history into the curriculum. “I try to infuse women’s history as much as I can, but I wish I could talk more about Anne Boleyn,” said Tripp.
Whether she’s delivering comforting speeches before a test, grading for hours, or laughing with her beloved students, Tripp is an incredible person. At North Atlanta, having a teacher that is loveable creates a connection to the subject. Her engagement and strategies benefit students. She is certainly the teacher that will forever be in the minds of students who were lucky enough to have her.
