Have you ever had a teacher that is great at teaching, connecting with their students and can crack a few jokes?
Lakeland High School has one, and her name is Shannon Mattila.
Mrs. Mattila has been teaching for twenty-one years and has worked for LHS for twenty years.
Growing up, she always wanted to be a teacher but her mother encouraged her to go into engineering.
By her second year of college she decided to be a math teacher instead.
“I was lucky and had great teachers all throughout my school career and it looked like a great job,” Mattila said.
Mattila mentions how her great teaching influences encouraged and motivated her to become a teacher as well.
“Having Mattila as a teacher is amazing because she has good teaching skills that make the subjects easier to understand, and she adds her own sense of humor in each class. She also values each of her students and listens to their needs.” Audrey Halgren, one of Mattila’s students says.
“I love the time in my classroom with the students. I have never had a day that I do not laugh with, and sometimes at, the students. I think teaching keeps you young and I love that even though you teach the same things each year, it is never the same because the students are different. I enjoy the variety and changes each student brings,” Mattila said.
In her high school years, Mattila attended Lakeland High.
She said that there have been a few changes to Lakeland since she was a highschool student.
“When I was in highschool there were no commons, no hot lunch, and the entire math wing and new gym were not even a part of the building.”
Mattila also said how back then, Lakeland would not have their classes start until 8:30, then classes got out at 3:15.
Mattila has gotten different points of view from Steve Seymour, one of Lakeland’s English teachers, because she has had him as a teacher and a colleague.
“Coming back to work beside your former teacher is interesting. It turns out that they did not think I was as funny as I thought I was. Mr. Seymour was such a fun teacher, he was super animated and would read using different voices and I never knew what to expect when I walked into his class.” Mattila said.
Another fact about Mattila is that she ran cross-country in high school as well as in college.
She also started coaching at the same time she started teaching. Mattila enjoys coaching kids because she gets to know the kids in a different capacity than it is in a classroom setting and you can watch them grow and get faster.
With more students cycling into highschool, this will bring new athletes and more opportunities to the athletic side of Lakeland.
“I am looking forward to this season, I feel like we have some very strong returning athletes and there are some strong freshmen that will be adding to our program as well. I think this will be the strongest group of athletes since I began coaching.”
Mattila is excited to watch all of the students’ hard work pay off.
