Photo credit: Lucine Stephan

History teacher and Innovative Learning Coordinator Malia McClurg teaches the Gender Studies senior seminar students about the importance of intersectional feminism. “I hope that students walk away with a curiosity about themselves and the world around them,” McClurg said.

It’s third period, and the clock is ticking. However, the students in the Gender Studies classroom don’t seem to notice: Instead, they are immersed in a Socratic seminar about intersectionality, historical amnesia and feminist movements. Innovative learning coordinator and history teacher Malia McClurg spearheads the discussion, posing questions throughout the seminar to keep everyone actively engaged. 

McClurg has been teaching at Archer since 2011. She will be leaving at the end of the semester for personal reasons. She has taught both middle and upper school students and served as a seventh grade history teacher, the innovative learning coordinator and the interim senior seminar Gender Studies teacher. McClurg said that her wide range of expertise in all three positions allows her to embed personal interests into her teaching style.

However, McClurg said it was difficult for her to personalize her teaching as the substitute Gender Studies teacher. But, despite this and the fact that she has only known the gender studies students for 10 weeks, she said she was able to smoothly transition into the role. 

“Ms Shirk is incredibly organized, and because we knew that her maternity leave was coming up, we were able to meet several times before I took the course over,” McClurg said. “This way, I have an idea of what she’d already done and where the class is going.”

Senior Ella Dorfman, a student in the course, said McClurg was well-spoken and has been an excellent fit as the interim teacher.

“Ms. McClurg puts things in a way that makes it very easy for students to comprehend, while still making it interesting and engaging,” Dorfman said. “She has given me the space to explore things I’m really passionate about.”

Gender studies was McClurg’s passion long before she started teaching at Archer. She double majored in Classical Antiquity and Gender Studies at Saint Mary’s College of California and said she considers the topic to be increasingly valuable in today’s world. 

“Gender studies makes the invisible visible; it breaks open assumptions and unconscious biases,” McClurg said. “It builds out this system in your mind that you can apply to anything — work relationships, personal relationships — and it gives you frameworks to think about, to question [and] to compare.” 

While McClurg taught seniors in the Gender Studies course about the waves of feminism, her seventh grade history class studied the medieval era. McClurg said the diversity range of topics she teaches, along with her wide-ranging interests, are what keep her engaged with the world. 

“It’s so fun to pull your mind in many different directions,” she said. “A wide range of interests helps you notice more connections and lets you dive deep. I feel like that’s so true with life outside of school, too.” 

Senior Systems Administrator and Education Technology Associate Banafsheh Salimi said McClurg has been a treasured member of the community, and she greatly values their friendship. 

“It’s such a blessing to work with someone who is very grounded, very calm,” Salimi said. “She’s always willing to give everything she has.”

As the innovative learning coordinator, McClurg has worked with Salimi in the IT department since piloting the Learning Management System Canvas, which was tested in Spring 2021. Salimi said McClurg was the face of the Canvas website and worked closely with other teachers so they could get what they needed in the technology world. 

“I think of the innovative learning coordinator role as the intersection between educational technology and pedagogy — how and what and why we teach,” McClurg said. “It’s about how we can leverage teaching and ideas and blend them to make transformational experiences.”

Salimi said she doesn’t work with many teachers and students, but she still loves to be involved. She said that McClurg had given her that opportunity. 

“She always gives her best to chime in and help the community,” Salimi said. “She’s always willing to do as much as she can.”

McClurg wanted students in her class to learn about topics they are interested in and adapted her lesson plans based on student suggestions. 

“I asked the Gender Studies class, ‘What are the topics you absolutely want to cover?’ Masculinity was one that was on a lot of people’s minds,” McClurg said. “I think, ‘How does the lesson go, and how can I respond and iterate?’ I can never set or leave things alone, and I think it’s a good example of how I approach teaching, reworking how things have been traditionally done.”

Throughout McClurg’s path to becoming a teacher, she said her parents’ advice is what guided her: Do what you’re passionate about.

“I love to be in a classroom or in an academic institution because I’m constantly researching wide-ranging interests,” McClurg said. “I love sharing ideas, and I’m open to a lot of threads of discussion. I feel excited by them.”

As McClurg looked back on her time as a teacher and innovative learning coordinator, she shared her thoughts on her journey and its impact.

“It’s difficult to sum up my time at Archer,” McClurg said. “How do I explain the last 13 years? Poet Patti Smith writes, ‘The transformation of the heart is a wondrous thing, no matter how you land there.’ My colleagues, students, and the Archer community have certainly magnified and transformed my spirit.”