One might not think that music can impact one’s future career, but for Ms. Robyn Judge, a Simon and Garfunkel album would change her life forever. She relates pop culture music to the literature she teaches to connect with her students to grab their attention. For many years, Ms. Judge has been a staple in the Upper School English department for her unorthodox teaching style. Ms. Judges’ love for literature seeps out during her lessons and can be heard up and down the Founders Hall by both students and teachers.
“If I could do the same thing for kids and make them enjoy the classroom experience as much as I have, that might change somebody’s life,” Ms. Judge said.
Ms. Judge has aimed to change the ways of traditional teaching by finding different ways to bring life to the classroom and get the students more involved in the literature.
“I bring a whole lot of pieces together, like music for instance, maybe some video clips that seem pertinent to the subject,” Ms. Judge said when asked why her teaching style is unique. “I try to keep an open mind, I try to keep current with the times and bring things in that I might see or read that are current.”
Being able to adapt her lesson plan to the students’ needs, Ms. Judge aims to encourage students to read, learn, and strive to become the greatest version of themselves. She inspires students to think outside the box and try to express themselves as much as they can whether it is writing, acting, or reading.
“Well I had a wonderful, wonderful 10th grade English teacher,” Ms. Judge said when asked who inspired her to have such a unique teaching style. “Mr. Mosley was his name and prior to that school to me was very traditional. When this guy came he brought a whole different spin to it. He brought in a Simon and Garfunkel album and we listened to the boxer. We listened to it three times in a row, we discussed what does Simon and Garfunkel mean, what is the message here, and we wrote about it and he brought music in a lot. What we read we discussed, and we got to sit on the floor on little blankets we brought in and we never even used the desks.”
Mr. Mosley influenced Ms. Judge to have a unique and effective teaching style among Cape Henry students. She often uses music clips and different movie clips to convey her point of view during her lessons. Whether it is referencing a popular rock song or showing off the different perspectives that a director might have on the play Hamlet.
“So learning to understand them [students], understand their perspectives and trying to work around the fact that not everyone is going to love literature the way that I do,” Ms. Judge said.
One of her biggest challenges as a new teacher was to understand that not everyone is going to want to learn about literature. She had a hard time understanding at first but then she realized that she needed to change her approach and be more relatable and current with her students.
Over the course of Ms. Judge’s 24 year career she has overcome many challenges. She learned how to better connect with her students and has made an impact on many students’ lives encouraging them to live life to the fullest. She strives to be better everyday by bringing an energetic attitude and playful humor.
