Future English teacher Joey Spagnolo cultivates joy by connecting with community and being his authentic self in front of students.

The joy of teaching

Article by Megan M.F. Everhart Photos by Evan Krape May 20, 2026

Senior English education major finds purpose and connection in the teaching profession

When he started his student teaching placement at William Penn High School, University of Delaware senior Joey Spagnolo felt nervous and a little reserved in front of his students. That changed when someone gave him a school pompom and he started using it in class to punctuate ideas.

“I love being … not outlandish, but outgoing. I’m bubbly. I have a big personality,” Spagnolo said. “Now I integrate the pompom into my mannerisms. I’ll ask students a question and throw it in the air.”

Spagnolo found his authentic self through the simple prop of a pompom, and as he knows from a Winter Session research project he did as a junior at UD, authenticity is a key factor in experiencing joy.

An English education and women and gender studies double major, Spagnolo worked with faculty members Jill Flynn, professor of English and English education coordinator, and Kisha Porcher, associate professor of English and student teaching coordinator, on the project, which examined the experience of joy for student teachers and how it impacts experiences in the classroom.

“It’s been very joyful,” he said of his time at William Penn. “The students make it entertaining, and I’ve been able to curate and find a lot of joy.”

More than happiness

With veteran teachers leaving the profession in record numbers, and fewer college students choosing it, saying that teachers need joy is a no-brainer.

“It’s something that just seems like common sense,” Flynn said. “You have to do what makes you happy, but to study it and quantify it helps us understand why it’s important.”

Identifying joy can help school systems and teachers develop strategies to prevent burnout and increase job satisfaction, as well as improve the student experience.

As he coded transcripts and looked for common themes, Spagnolo identified more than 30 terms that respondents identified with joy. He also learned that it isn’t always associated with the feeling of happiness.

Spagnolo will take the lessons learned in his classroom at William Penn High School with him as he continues to pursue the joy of teaching as a graduate student at Teachers College - Columbia University.

“Some might define joy as creativity, but for others joy is community focused,” he said. “And these impact the classroom in different ways.”

For him, the community of preservice teachers at William Penn has been a source of joy as they share frustrations and ideas.

Art, music, fitness, family are a few other terms that Spagnolo identified in the survey responses.

“For me the most interesting topic was support, because the joy that comes from feeling supported makes a strong contribution to classroom efficacy," he said.

One research participant shared that they had two clinical educators, the established teachers who share their classroom with student teachers.

“One absolutely raised her up, and one tore her down, and there was a drastic difference in how she experienced joy, and how that joy affected her students,” he said.

Shaping the weather

A favorite quote of Spagnolo’s comes from educator, psychotherapist and author Haim Ginott: “I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather.”

“I hold that quote more dear now,” he said. “Teaching can beat you up, but even on hard days you can focus on the small successes.”

After his first class, he felt discouraged that so few students were engaged and paying attention, but his clinical educator encouraged him to think about the students who did participate and got something out of the lesson.

“That clicked in my head,” he said. “It’s inevitable that things sometimes go wrong, but there will also be amazing things in each day.”

Spagnolo has seen a change over the weeks. As he put the research into practice and leaned into what makes him feel joy, student engagement increased.

“Now even my shyer students are curating their own authenticity by opening up,” he said.

As Spagnolo wraps up his time at William Penn, he’ll take the lessons learned in his classroom with him as he continues to pursue the joy of teaching as a graduate student at Teachers College - Columbia University.