Dunellen High School is welcoming Mr. Sean Murphy as an addition to the Special Education Department for the 2018-2019 school year. Mr. Murphy started his involvement in special education just about three years ago; the result of his search to find a more rewarding way to spend his time. And according to him, DHS has exactly what he’s looking for.
Mr. Murphy began his education with two years in The County College of Morris and another two at Montclair State to finish his undergraduate. Even though he is now a teacher, Mr. Murphy did not start out that way. He jumped from major to major, starting out as an undeclared student, then going on to study music, journalism, and finally history. However, he did not end up in a career in any of those fields. Before coming to DHS, Mr. Murphy spent eight years working at a law firm. Only later down the road did he decide that he really wanted to become a teacher, and began his time at The College of Saint Elizabeth to become qualified for a position in education, and is now back at Montclair State in order to gain a master’s in teaching.
But why was the law firm so bleak? According to Mr. Murphy, in order for a job to be fulfilling, it needs to make you feel as though “you’re making a positive difference”; and for Mr. Murphy, he would rather make a dozen small changes in one’s life that make a world-changing difference. Of course, his law firm job made differences, but Mr. Murphy would argue that those changes were for the worst, as if he were a salesman trying to sell a harmful product.
But in a school setting, Mr. Murphy believes he can provide all of the small, positive, differences he needs to feel as though his job is fulfilling. In DHS, his entire job is centered around making sure his students have everything they need in order to succeed in school.
Regarding his students, Mr. Murphy actually has four groups of them. However, he doesn’t actually teach them himself. His duties entail providing clarification on certain subjects when needed, such as explaining a math equation that simply doesn’t make sense to a student. On top of that, Mr. Murphy sometimes accompanies his students to their classes, where he not only helps his individual wards, but any other students who might need his assistance. But his work doesn’t just end with the students of the school. Mr. Murphy also assists other teachers in coming up with lesson plans and how assessments and school work should be addressed. He believes that a teacher holds the power to make their students feel either intelligent or decidedly unintelligent, and it is important to find a state of equilibrium. After all, in Mr. Murphy’s own words, “DHS is just a small community; we are all neighbors when in school”.