Laura Kwan was an English teacher at Degrassi Community School. Her husband had cancer, so that had stressed her out sometimes, as shown in the episode, Friday Night, when Spinner and Jimmy egg her car. This caused her to take a leave of absence. When she's not teaching grade 7 - grade 9 students, she teaches an adult night class. Ms. Kwan's favorite student was Ashley Kerwin.
Kwan took a break from teaching for a while to stay home and help her husband recover from cancer. Later, she returned back to Degrassi with everything better in her personal life. She appeared in every season from Seasons 1 to 9. When J.T. got revenge on Spinner during their prank war, he writes a love letter from Spinner to Ms. Kwan, causing several problems. She was portrayed by Linlyn Lue.
Character History[]
Season 1-9[]
Throughout the years while teaching at Degrassi, Ms. Kwan had to deal with lots of altercations between her students, whether it was witnessing Spinner Mason's boner problems, or sending him to the office because he was always in trouble.
Whether it was telling J.T. Yorke to stop fooling around in class, because he's being a nuisance, or pointing out the kids' mistakes and making them share an assignment with the class that she knows he or she didn't attempt to do. She tried to be a good teacher and be stress-free, but with the scare of her husband being sick, and dealing with Spinner, Ms. Kwan had to leave Degrassi for a time period to take care of her husband. When she came back nothing has changed, especially when Spinner and Jimmy Brooks egged her car. She eventually breaks down, and became a stricter teacher, but still got her teaching done, with kindness.
She may be strict, but she knows her kids are learning from her teachings of literature and reading. Her students learn that when she's not teaching, she teaches an adult night school class. Later in the seasons, when Spinner and J.T. are having a prank war, Ms. Kwan receives a fake love letter, apparently from Spinner that J.T. gave her. Of course, Spinner was terrible at spelling, so she knew that J.T. had written it. Still, she found it slightly humorous.
In season 8 and 9, Ms. Kwan has been lowering her strictness, as Spinner and Jimmy are not around anymore. She isn't used to as many pranks from the newer classmates, so she relaxes a bit more. In season 8, she continues to teach literature, and progresses with the learning of the students. Here and there she'll revert back to her old ways, rebuking students who insist on wasting their potential. In season 9, Ms. Kwan returns and is ready for another year at the high school, she knows and loves. When she sees that Connor DeLaurier has an inappropriate Megan Fox magazine, she disposes of it and gives him a detention. She made him aware that the magazine was not only age-inappropriate, but clearly against school policy. Along with the rest of the faculty, Ms. Kwan continues to teach the kids until graduation.
Appearances[]
- Family Politics
- Eye of the Beholder
- The Mating Game
- Basketball Diaries
- Secrets and Lies
- Coming of Age
- Rumours and Reputations
- Friday Night
- Under Pressure
- Jagged Little Pill
- When Doves Cry (1)
- Karma Chameleon
- Weird Science
- Drive
- Shout (1)
- Shout (2)
- Mirror in the Bathroom
- Take My Breath Away
- Don't Believe the Hype
- White Wedding (1)
- Hot for Teacher
- Dressed in Black
- Fight for Your Right
- Tears Are Not Enough (1) No Lines
Trivia[]
- Most of Spinner Mason's embarrassments took place in her classroom.
- She is one of the longest recurring teachers, being there for nine seasons.
- She is the first teacher to cry on Degrassi, the second being Winnie Oh.
- Along with Archie Simpson, Emma Nelson, Manny Santos, Spinner Mason, Liberty Van Zandt, Christine Nelson and Darryl Armstrong, she is one of only eight characters to appear in all of the first nine seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
- In Redemption Song, Spinner joked that Ms. Kwan scared him more than anything.
- Friday Night is the only episode in which Ms. Kwan is the focus of a plot.