Introducing Our Journalism Teacher Ms. Grasty
Erin Grasty is a new teacher at Morro Bay High School. She graduated from Cal Poly and majored in journalism while minoring in environmental studies. Grasty is teaching three subjects this year: journalism, algebra 2, and AP statistics.
“For Journalism, I really like this class because it’s very student-led… And I get to put a lot of students in leadership roles and just like feel connected to students. Let them like explore their own talents in this class,” said Grasty.
Grasty has a natural connection with journalism. In high school, she took a multimedia journalism class, which led to her involvement in her high school newspaper. Grasty was also Editor-in-Chief of her high school newspaper. This involvement inspired her to study journalism all four years, but primarily the broadcasting and television aspects of journalism. Throughout her journey on the film and broadcasting side, she realized she wanted to be in a classroom instead and work to educate students about journalism.
She is extremely excited to see her students get out of their comfort zone to interview, connect with their community, and dig deep to find big stories. Grasty plans to have a lot of fun with Journalism this year by allowing students to express their talents and skills throughout each press cycle and cannot wait to see their expected improvement.
Grasty is a first-year AP statistics teacher this year too, as well as an algebra 2 teacher. She is ready and excited to teach AP statistics, but also to learn more as she goes. Grasty took statistics in college, but it was less extensive than the class she’s teaching now.
“I like AP statistics because it’s a challenging class. It challenges me and the students. This is my first year teaching it, so I’m teaching myself as we go. But the students are super driven because they’re AP students,” said Grasty.
Grasty is excited to learn throughout this year with her students. She loved learning as a student, so being able to learn as she teaches is something she looks forward to. She always knew she wanted to be a math teacher, she just didn’t know how soon the opportunity would come. This challenge however is great for her and she's ready to conquer the year.
“I like algebra 2 a lot because the kids are really silly. All of my classes have really silly students and it's been really cool to connect with students,” said Grasty.
Algebra 2 can be a difficult subject to teach, but she finds it rewarding when students grasp a topic. Grasty enjoys all her algebra 2 classes and can’t wait to see how the rest of the year goes with them. Grasty is well-liked by her students. Students enjoy her classes and they will get the opportunity to learn and be motivated by her. Grasty couldn’t be more thrilled for her first year at MBHS and is inspiring her students everyday.