The Commendable Mr. Copley
This year, The Galloway School has hired several new staff members ranging from administration to teachers. One new teacher is Mr. Copley . Since the beginning of the year, he has taught American Studies, Economics, and has been a substitute for many other classes. He has been very popular amongst students for his cheerful, engaging personality. He even participated with the faculty in the student-faculty game, scoring many points. To show support, students came with white T-shirts that spelled out his name and roared for every assist and point he made. However, many students still don’t yet know who he is.
Mr Copley began the first term as the 11th grade American Studies teacher, then became the substitute teacher for Mr. Curtis and taught microeconomics and human geography. For the rest of the year, he will be teaching AP World History, but he said that, “overall, he is a full time substitute teacher for Galloway.” Prior to this year, Mr Copley worked at Kentucky Country Day in Louisville, Kentucky. Here he showed his versatility. He has not only taught World History for 14 years, but he also coached multiple sports: track, cross county, and basketball. Some of his positions in coaching included the head coach for cross country and JV girls as well as assistant varsity coach for boys and girls basketball. Besides all of this, he was working in administration before coming to Galloway.
After hearing all of the different roles he has had, I was curious about whether he preferred teaching, coaching, or administration. He said that he loves being a coach and being on a field, but he simultaneously believes that “being in the classroom is amazing as well.” He said that it helps him build a stronger relationship with students because he can see their personality when in class but also on the field. He believes that extracurriculars can help broaden student-teacher relationships. When teaching, he enjoys the higher maturity levels of upper learning students because you can have more meaningful relationships. He explains how students most remember and have a closer connection with high school teachers since they are the last ones we see before graduating; therefore, former seniors tend to reach back out to these teachers when they leave, but students don’t as often contact their elementary or middle school teachers.
Mr. Copley came to Georgia for his wife’s research regarding breast cancer surgery at Emory. Out of all the schools in Georgia to teacher at, he chose Galloway because he liked how it was an independent school with a similar size to his school in Kentucky, but he also wanted to come here because he had worked for years with Mr. Foreman and Mr. Long in the past. His favorite Galloway event since he started has been the faculty-student basketball game, “The faculty-student game was awesome because I love basketball, and it was nice to see students supporting me.” Lastly, I asked about his favorite part of Galloway, which is the student population. He loves the energy, and he commented that the balance between freedom and responsibility here has been “eye opening.” He said, “The students seem really engaged and choose classes that they really care about and want to learn in, which reflects in how they truly are curious and want to learn.”
Although Mr Copley will sadly be leaving after this year to return to Kentucky, he sends a message to the Galloway community: “Definitely, I want to say thank you and also that I am proud of all of the students here at Galloway for being so curious and so kind to a person that stepped in. I have been able to navigate unfamiliar territory with the guidance of the students and faculty at Galloway.” The entire student body will miss Mr. Copley’s presence in the classrooms and halls.
By Hasita Yalamanchili