New to Old

Eden McIsaac
Staff Writer
  Ms. Pilgrim is a math teacher at Bonneville High School (BHS), she has been teaching here for 31 and a half years, all in the same classroom. The Bonneville Buzz was able to interview Pilgrim about her experiences and the changes throughout the years. One of the questions Pilgrim was asked was how the school has changed over the years. She replied by listing a variety of things; however, she mostly focused on how the technology at the school has changed. She declared, “Technology is vastly different. I did not even have a computer in my classroom when I started.” Pilgrim additionally mentioned how keyboards have changed, she says, “Classes like 'keyboarding' are no longer offered.” Nowadays teachers expect their students to have already learned typing skills. Another technological change she mentioned was cell phones. Pilgrim did not have a phone until “several years into [my] career;” however, her students had smartphones before she did. The biggest difference is Pilgrim "managed to survive day-to-day without constant contact," while many students consider their phone their lifeline. Pilgrim remarked that the bell schedule has undergone a huge change as well. When Pilgrim started teaching, Bonneville was on the A/B block schedule; the change to a six-period day was “a big switch” for her.  Along with the change in the schedule, Pilgrim commented that there used to be semesters instead of trimesters. Besides the technology change and scheduling, Pilgrim revealed that Bonneville has changed the courses and classes they offer. Now BHS offers a way to receive an associates degree while still in highschool, Pilgrim mentioned that what the school offers has more varieties now than it did in the past. Students are now able to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree through universities such as Idaho State University. Pilgrim commented that she wished she could have had that option when she went to school here at Bonneville. 
  Pilgrim went to school at BHS in 1986 and graduated from BYU. Before coming to teach at BHS, Pilgrim worked at a grocery store. Pilgrim enjoys a variety of things such as sewing, hiking, quilting, reading, and watching old movies. When Pilgrim was first hired, the BHS newspaper wrote an article on her, to introduce her as a new staff member. One thing the article mentions is that when Pilgrim was hired, she still had siblings that attended school. Upon getting hired, she stated, “The only draw-back, is that people might think I am favoring my siblings who attend BHS.”
  In addition, The Buzz asked Pilgrim what her favorite subject to teach is and why. Pilgrim responded, “I love to teach pre-calculus and calculus because the students are more motivated, and the subject matter is more challenging.” Pilgrim decided to become a math teacher because she is good at math. When her friends struggled in class they came to her for help. The last question asked to Pilgrim was what is the biggest challenge while teaching at (BHS). Pilgrim proclaimed, “Exhaustion and overwork. I am something of a perfectionist, and I like things just so. That takes a lot of work to keep up.”