Ariane Berelowitch graduated from CRLS in 2010 and is now back to teach 10th and 11th grade English.

Register Forum: What inspired you to become a teacher? Why did you choose English?

Ariane Berolowitch: I love reading a lot. And I love talking about books, I love talking about stories, I love talking about people, and I love talking about the world, and I think that English class has room for all of that. And I really love how challenging writing can be as well; I think it’s really exciting to express yourself fully, and it takes a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding.

RF: What did you take away from your time as a student at CRLS?

AB: So much. I loved going to CRLS. For a long time, I thought it might be strange to come back and teach at the school that I went to. But I had a very positive experience here. I was involved in a lot of activities—I did sports, I did theatre, I did some music, I did student government … so I felt that I connected with the school in a lot of different ways, and it’s very special to be back in a new role at this school.

RF: Was there one CRLS teacher who particularly impacted you?

AB: I would have to say Natasha Labaze. I took three of her classes throughout high school, so she taught me most of the things that I know about English. Then when I came back to do my student teaching at CRLS, she was my mentor teacher, so she taught me so much about teaching. I think that beyond academics, she also has guided me in becoming the type of role model and educator that I had hoped to be, and I feel very lucky to be on the same floor as her now.

RF: What is your favorite book?

AB: All-time favorite is hard for me. I’m rereading Franny and Zooey, which I have loved for a long time, and I read Americanah not that long ago and loved reading that. I had been saving it and waiting to read it because I knew that I loved her work. And I love 100 Years of Solitude.

RF: What is your favorite book to recommend to students?

AB:  A book that I have been recommending a lot in the first few days of school is I’ll Give You the Sun, so if anybody wants to borrow it, I have several copies. I think it’s a great book, and it’s told from multiple perspectives at different times. The narrators are these two twins, so it’s interesting to flip back and forth. And I definitely recommend the Autobiography of Malcolm X, it’s very engaging but also very thought-provoking.

RF: if you could meet one author, dead or alive, who would it be?

AB: I think I would want to meet Adrienne Maree Brown, who wrote Emergent Strategy. She does a lot of activism and leads a lot of group work around changing the world and envisioning the future, and I think it would be both an honor to meet her and a really educational experience.

This piece also appears in our September 2019 print edition.