Teachers Fondly Recall Taylor Swift as an Elementary School Student—Always Writing Poetry, “Even When She Shouldn’t”

Throughout her time in the spotlight, Taylor Swift proved not only her talent but dominance over the music industry. Looking at just a few of her accolades, the singer holds 14 Grammy Awards, became the 2023 Time Person of the Year, and sold more than 200 million albums. And again – that is just a sample when it comes to the star. But before becoming an icon, Swift attended school like any normal kid. And taking a trip into the past, it appears that two of her former teachers still remember what it was like to have Swift in their class. 

Teaching Swift from first to fourth grade, Barbara Kolvek recalled what it was like to have the icon as a student. Although not knowing what the future held for Swift, Kolvek remembered the singer always writing. “She always was writing poetry — always — even in music class, even when she shouldn’t.” While now retired, Kolvek looked back on those memorable years, saying “I feel like maybe I gave her a little spark or encouragement to do what she was doing.”

Speaking with CBS Philadelphia, Swift’s third-grade teacher, Heather Brown, pointed to that “Special quality” that seemed to encompass the singer. “You always remember every student from the quality they have. Taylor’s quality was just being she was one of those students where people just drew to.” Brown even continues to send Swift a Christmas card every year, although she explained, “She probably doesn’t get the messages anymore.” 

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As for the stardom that follows Swift, Brown explained, “When she comes out on stage and everyone’s screaming ‘Taylor,’ it’s like, oh my gosh, like I was her teacher.”

Taylor Swift Celebrates The Release Of Her New Album

Getting back to the present, Swift recently shared a post about her new album The Tortured Poets Department. With the album out now, Swift posted a collage of photos of herself on Instagram. She captioned the post, writing, “The Tortured Poets Department. An anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure. This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted.”

Continuing with her statement, Swift concluded, “This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it. And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry.”

(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic)