Educator Of The Month: Liz Hargraves

When the middle school students at St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School enter their history classroom, the lessons go beyond what’s written in the textbook.

Their teacher, Lisbeth “Liz” Hargraves, is a former Marine Corps adjutant, and her story is intertwined with the history that she teaches.

Hargraves graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2004. She and fellow midshipmen were gathered around a single television when the second plane hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. She knew her life had changed in that instant.

“I came in completely at peace, and I left the Naval Academy knowing, as a Marine, that I was going to be in a war zone relatively soon,” Hargraves said.

She landed in Iraq less than six months after completing basic training.

Today, that time spent in Iraq allows Hargraves to provide firsthand accounts to her students on a host of topics, both past and present. When studying Mesopotamia, she can describe from her own memory the vibrancy of the Tigris and Euphrates river regions, creating a more concrete idea for her students of why that area became the cradle of civilization.

The 26-mile march she endured in training provides context when teaching about battles throughout America’s history; Hargraves can recall for her students just how difficult a feat it is to march several miles with gear, and why that might not set up a battalion for success.

Hargraves emphasized the importance of taking her students’ questions on military life and current events.

“There’s a calm to be felt in history,” Hargraves explained. “I can come in and say, ‘We’ve done this before, and this is what we do, and we’re going to be OK.’”

Hargraves turned to teaching following her military service, after realizing a corporate career wouldn’t provide the sense of community and altruism she desired.

A Massachusetts native with family roots that trace back to the American Revolution, Hargraves is a lifelong student of history, and she is intrinsically motivated to ignite that spark in her middle school classroom.

“This is how history is made – by telling stories. Whether they’re good or bad, they still need to be told so the next generation can learn,” Hargraves said. “Understanding that amazing story helps them understand their place in the world.”

Hargraves, who is also a military spouse, taught middle and high school history in California and Texas prior to arriving in Maryland. She even served a stint as a preschool teacher, a move that required some coaxing and prayerful consideration.

“Lo and behold it was the right choice,” Hargraves said. “Teaching the littles gave me, I think, an unending amount of patience that has now transferred into middle school.”

Choosing to settle in the Annapolis area post-military was an easy choice for Hargraves and her husband, who is also a Naval Academy graduate.

It was important for the family to find a school home for their two sons. They quickly found that at St. Martin’s, as well as a middle school history teacher position.

As her first year at St. Martin’s wraps up, Hargraves is grateful to have found what she calls a “Disneyland school” for herself and her children – one that provides a collaborative teaching environment and allows for personal relationships with students and their families.

“I know you, I know what your potential is, and you don’t get to fall through the cracks,” Hargraves shared, describing her approach to her students made possible by the small class sizes at St. Martin’s.

Though only one year in, her impact at the school is palpable.

“Liz’s enthusiasm for teaching and learning is contagious. She exudes professionalism, humility and a sense of humor,” said Kathy Mahar, interim head of school.

That sense of humor comes in handy when managing the emotions of adolescent students who spend much of this age in fight or flight.

“I always remind them, ‘I understand that you are having a bad day. Please understand that my scale for a bad day is much different than yours,’” Hargraves said, harkening back to her years in the Middle East.

Hargraves enjoys the challenge of teaching middle school students and looks forward to following her sixth-graders all the way through eighth grade.

“If you can impact them in middle school, you’ve impacted them the rest of their life,” she said.