Rediscovering a Passion for Teaching, One Student’s Journey to a Career in Education
An Elementary Education and Psychology double major, Margaret Barr ’25 juggles many roles: friend, daughter, William & Mary student, educator, researcher and more. Even though she wears many hats, she does so proudly and with great joy. From the contributions she makes in her college courses and first-grade classroom to her educational research, Barr’s enthusiasm is palpable.
Surprisingly, when she was applying to undergraduate programs, Barr did not initially consider studying education, and she was unsure whether William & Mary (W&M) would be a good fit.
“Education … was not even on my radar whatsoever,” she said. “I'm actually the School of Education’s student contact now, which is such a full circle moment.”
What changed her perspective about joining the Tribe was being able to connect with W&M student contacts. She reached out to each of the schools where she was accepted and asked student ambassadors to describe their student body in one word.
“All three of the W&M contacts used the word ‘kind.’ Other people used words like motivated, committed or all these other really amazing adjectives. But I realized, I want to go to the place where the three random people, who probably don't even know each other, all landed on the word describing the community as kind,” she said.
Barr’s journey to the School of Education was just as unexpected as her enrollment at W&M. She initially enrolled in an introductory teaching course taught by Clinical Faculty and Coordinator of the Special Education Program Debbie Ramer due to a registration glitch. Yet, she found that Ramer and later Jamel Donnor, The Fred Huby Memorial Professor of Education, reignited her fire for teaching.
“All of my professors here have just absolutely changed my world!” she said, explaining that she eventually decided to double major in elementary education and psychology.
Her first spark of passion for teaching began in sixth grade when she volunteered in first-grade classes. This continued through high school, where she led book clubs for third through fifth graders, coached a running club and worked with an afterschool literacy program. The summer before her first year at W&M, she was a program coordinator for a day camp that addressed summer learning loss in an impoverished county in Tennessee. Barr worked with volunteers to provide educational services for approximately 300 local students.
Currently, Barr is a student teacher in a local first grade classroom and enjoys a great rapport with her mentor teacher and students. Her dedication to student learning has translated to her experience in the field as a student teacher.
“I love my children, like genuinely just from the bottom of my heart,” said Barr. “They are my absolute source of happiness on this campus.”
Barr shared one of her favorite moments with students this school year. She was working on a class assignment and asked her students if they would write a letter to her future employers. This was an opportunity for her students to practice opinion writing, and their responses brought her immense joy. They shared notes such as ‘Miss Barr gives the best hugs,’ and ‘She does cool experiments with us,’ and ‘She loves everyone around her.’ Barr was deeply moved reading their letters.
In addition to student teaching, Barr has been engaged in research projects with Kristin Conradi Smith, The Dr. Virginia L. McLaughlin Associate Professor of Education and co-director of the W&M Literacy Lab, since her first year.
“I met Margaret in January of her freshman year and was so impressed by her curiosity and poise. She jumped right into a mixed-methods study and participated in data collection, analysis and writing,” said Conradi Smith. “Impressively, Margaret will be graduating as co-author of a paper in ‘Reading Psychology,’ a refereed literacy journal.”
In her second year, Margaret also conceived the idea for a separate study, said Conradi Smith.
“She found a gap in the literature, pitched an idea and then carried out an entire research study on her own.” The study is titled “’She’s a good different. She’s revolutionary’: How fifth grade readers interpret aspects of diversity in children’s literature.”
“Margaret has a solo-authored study as an undergraduate. This accomplishment is on par with an advanced graduate student!” said Conradi Smith.
“One of the things that is so interesting to me in education research is we don't talk to kids a lot,” said Barr. “We're making all of these decisions for kids, but we're not really getting their perspective. So that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to ask kids what they actually think about diversity. If we're going to do all this research on it, how do we best get this knowledge to them?”
Barr now serves as the lead undergraduate student on Conradi Smith’s research team. She has received grants from the School of Education and the Charles Center, presented her research at both state and national conferences, and expects to have two additional co-authored manuscripts under review by the end of the year. After graduation this spring, Barr plans to attend graduate school for school counseling and is willing to follow wherever her passions lead her.
“One of the things that I've really learned in my time in the School of Education is that so much can change ... the School of Education has really taught me that I don't have to know what’s next, and that I can just go with what I'm interested in,” said Barr. Ideally, she would like to work in an elementary school with a focus on implementing social emotional learning and developing individual relationships with her students. Because of the positive experience at William & Mary, she now looks forward to what her future holds and is even more excited to embrace her passions and discover where they take her next.
