Jennifer Braman-Parikh works in special education.

Is this your first time teaching or have you worked at other schools before?

I have worked at Newton South for eight years as a special education teacher, so education is not new to me. Brookline High School is new to me. I worked for Marlboro Public Schools while I was in my Master’s program and substituted at elementary level. My first position after my Master’s was at a private residential school for troubled girls. It’s called Walden Street School for Girls. I worked there for a few years and then moved to Newton.

What do you teach here?

I have switched into more of an administration role [as] Educational Team Facilitator. Basically what I do is I chair meetings for students on Individualized Education Plans. I still consider myself a teacher, but I’m not teaching a subject right now.

Why did you become a teacher?

Initially, I came out of school with a Bachelor’s in business and worked for a little while and realized pretty quickly that I didn’t find the business world to be exciting and changing every day. I was working in engineering and maybe that’s why. I didn’t really like sitting in front of a computer all day. It prompted me to do some volunteering, one of them being teaching and I really fell in love with elementary-age kids, and I enrolled in a Master’s program in special education and I fell in love. My first interview was at [the] high school level so I thought I’d check it out and signed on and realized at that moment that I liked working with high school students. I got a Master’s in special ed and a second in physics; I was co-teaching in physics so I thought I needed some more background.

Have you taught any other content classes?

Yeah, I co-taught in history, but my major subject area was usually physics. I have co-taught in biology. I also taught the MCAS support classes for science but not chemistry. I have co-taught in chemistry but never taught a MCAS support class in chemistry, just physics and biology.

What are some things you do for fun when you’re not teaching?

Most of my fun activities some people might not find to be fun, but I’m very athletic. That’s something that a lot of students wouldn’t know about me necessarily. I run a lot. I ran a marathon last year and plan to do that this year, so I run a lot for fun. I bike and just started taking swimming classes. I know how to swim, but for fitness, so it’s a little different. It was much more challenging than I thought it was going to be. Those take up most of my time.

Do you have any people that you look up to?

I would say that my biggest role model is my grandfather, who passed away about seven years ago. It is expected because it’s your grandparent, but it was pretty devastating. He’s a war veteran and he always worked very hard. He was very gentle and kind and patient with people so I really look up to him.

What is the scariest grade level for you when working with kids?

I would say probably seniors, because I think that seniors already have an established routine and expectation for what the school would do for them. Since they already know the system they seem to know what they can take advantage of so it becomes a little harder to set expectations, whereas when I was teaching freshman, it was my favorite, because I felt like they were just entering high school, and you could mold them. They are still very impressionable.

Do you ever use technology in the classroom?

I think that especially now kids are very connected; technology and iPhones are so a part of them, so why not use it as a tool to help them to learn? They are on it all day anyway, and that’s how they’re already using it in their daily lives into school. I totally support the new technology policy. It’s a great way to instruct kids and help connect with kids and get on their level. Kids also feel like you’re also a mentor in opposed to sitting in class and listening to a teacher lecturing, not anymore. Maybe that used to be the case but not anymore.

Is there anything else you’d like students to know about you?

My daughter graduated from Brookline High last year so she sort of motivated me to work here and apply here. I love Brookline and live in Brookline.

Jake Smith can be contacted at [email protected].