Meet Meg Ryan: The Teacher Not the Actress!

Yay, hello! I am very excited to be here! My name is Meg Ryan, the teacher, not the actress. First lesson: Me.

My Childhood  

I grew up in Rye, NY and moved to Wilton, CT when I was in middle school. But it wasn’t as simple as it sounds. I went to sleep-away camp in Maine one summer and came back to a brand new house in a brand new state with a brand new room and a pink bathroom. But change is hard for many reasons…Oh, did I mention that I’m also adopted? So, yeah, throw that in the mix.

The move didn’t really affect me personally since I attended private school my entire life and was used to people not being from the same town. I started at a Montessori school in New Rochelle, NY and then continued on to one in Greenwich, CT. Then I attended a private school in New Canaan from 6th grade through high school. I was always busy whether riding my bike, hanging with friends, shopping, babysitting or playing sports. For me, moving to Connecticut meant being further away from my best friends who both lived in Westchester County. We still found ways to hang out and, yes, we are still friends!

I grew up being infatuated with babies. I adored them, always wanted to hold them, and was constantly entertaining them. I started babysitting at a very young age. I was too young to drive so families would pick me up and drop me home. Looking back, this definitely played a part in me wanting to be a teacher.

In college I was placed in a kindergarten class at a school in Rhode Island. I helped teach a little girl to read and another little boy get assessed. That experience really cemented where I wanted to go with my career. After graduation, I applied to five Graduate Schools, decided on Bank Street College of Education, and the rest is history.

Since graduating with a dual Masters in General Education and Special Education in 2007, I’ve worked in seven different schools in New York City, Westchester County, and Fairfield County. One thing that’s shaped my approach to teaching was right before I graduated from Bank Street. I broke my ankle playing tag with my first and second grade students. Not a lot of fun being on crutches to receive my degree! Needless to say, that was the last game of tag I ever played with students. Children should be playing with children (despite how much fun I have). Teachers need to remain supportive by encouraging children to play with other children. Lesson learned.

As a student I really struggled in school. I couldn’t understand what I was reading and it was apparent I had reading/learning disabilities. I could decode, I just couldn’t comprehend. So I worked with teachers after school and during my free periods to catch up on reading strategies. Ironically, I also thought school and my tutors were super boring. Because of this, I have made it my own personal teaching mission to make learning fun, like really, really fun.

Teaching 

Now, as a teacher, I work very hard to show my students that being silly is fun, but that there are certain times for it. We can learn, have fun and be silly, but we need to make sure we are all happy and safe first. You can’t learn if you feel unsafe. (Subject for another post!).

The best thing about teaching for me is the curriculum. You can add games, songs, dancing, sillies and learning to any subject. Every year I have a few students who call me ‘“mom” and invite me over for play dates. This obviously cracks me up but is also very flattering because there is nothing more special than earning the trust of your students and being called ‘mom’ by accident, than being invited to their birthday party. Ha! Never gets old.

A Family of My Own  

On top of teaching I still manage to keep very busy. I married my high school crush – how many people get to say that!? No we didn’t date for that long, we went to junior prom together and met up years later while we both worked in Manhattan. After a few months of marital bliss, we rescued our first baby from North Shore Animal League – Mickey, a black lab mix. He is the sweetest dog in the whole world (no bias here). He can play ball for hours and can walk with us off leash. Four years later we were actually pregnant with two tiny humans, our twins, who will be entering kindergarten this fall. (Subject for another post soon!).

We quickly outgrew our little townhouse in New Rochelle (great for commuting to NYC, not so great for a dog and two babies), and decided to head north to Fairfield, CT. As soon as we moved, I became involved with the Willows Pediatric Twin Meet-Up Group and then repping for the brand, “The 203.” The day after we closed on our house, I had a job interview.

I’ve spent the last five years working for the same company/owners in a few different capacities. I first started as a 1:1 push in support teacher, in a few private schools in the area. There I supported children in all areas of learning during the academic year and summer months. Then I started working with students on skills they lost or needed strengthening 1:1 at the Harbor Light Therapy & Social Center. I then added social groups to my repertoire. For the last two and a half years I’ve been working as a classroom teacher at Harbor Light Preschool Academy.

Finding Balance  

Even though I’m extremely busy, I’ve found a way to thrive as a woman in helping other women feel and look good by selling Peach, women’s athleisure wear. It’s a comfortable brand made for and by women and has nothing to do with children. Every mom needs that outlet of getting out of the house and doing something else. You can only go to the gym and get your nails done so many times. 

Motherhood is hard. Everyone needs to figure out what does and doesn’t work for them. My husband and I have found an amazing balance. He supports me and sees how important it is for me to get out and do something else besides work with children and be a mom. This sounds backwards, but getting out of the house to do my own things makes me a better and more rounded mom and teacher.

Again, so excited to be here and thanks for reading!

Meg Ryan (the teacher)