Mrs. Ganatra is not your typical English teacher. Though her parents were both chemists, she knew from an early age she wanted to go down the literary path. Born in India, Mrs. Ganatra came to New Jersey at the ripe young age of 6, but her transition into her new life was not so smooth. Though she went to an English speaking school back in India, it was not very easy for her to settle into her new school. Though the experience seemed to jostle life as she knew it, she discovered something that would end up changing her life. 

In 3rd grade, Mrs. Ganatra and her best friend of the time Cynthia, had a competition of who could make the best lesson plan for the kindergarten class. Without a doubt, Mrs. Ganatra and her BFF dominated the competition which from that point on, unknowingly, led her into her future career path. 

Just before she got too comfortable though, she was thrown back into a baffling mess. In the 7th grade, she transferred to another school. While most know, seventh grade is not an easy time to be moving around, however situations like that didn’t deter her. This new place would be where she made some lifelong friends, and life played out slightly more smoothly from there. 

Though it took some adjustment, she found herself down a path of law. Having taken her LSATs, she was set on joining the profession of justice, but something was holding her back. In her last year of college she had taken an English course that had stuck with her for a very important reason. “The class was so laid back, but we produced such great work,” said Ganatra. This experience led to a sudden change in her major, but certainly for the better. She cultivated her own style from that life-changing professor and added a unique twist on her teachings. Any past students of Mrs. Ganatra would agree, her class is simultaneously casual and thought-provoking.

She finds a way to make teaching simply flow into the minds of the students without having to force it or jam-pack information. Her class takes us on the ups and downs of the English language without making it feel like a class. It seems as if you were simply talking to another person, not a teacher who will assess every decision you make, or be critical of all the minutiae of school. You discuss the different ways of life, whether it be Ray Bradbury’s dystopian Fahrenheit 451 or George Orwell’s twist on the Russian revolution in Animal Farm. 

Imprinting on all students’ brains with a comforting smile, Mrs. Ganatra wants to allow her students to think about their role in society and humanity, and hopefully cultivate future world leaders. She hopes to provide a comfortable environment and wants to have a gentle yet meaningful impact on her students. Though her ride was a bumpy one, it lead her to a beautiful destination, one with a satisfying result of changing student’s lives everyday.