How long have you been teaching?
This will be my second year of teaching ninth grade.

Do you like it?
I love it so far. It’s very rewarding and challenging at the same time.

Is there anything about teaching that surprised you?
How quickly it goes. Everyone tells you it’s going to go really fast, and it surprised me how true that is. Beyond that, dealing with the kids and how much of the time is not spent on content. It’s spent on helping the kids in other ways.

What made you decide to go into teaching?
When I graduated high school, I thought I wanted to be a teacher. When I went to college, I was going to be an English teacher. Then, in college, I changed tracks and decided to be a police officer. I was training for that, but in the end, it wasn’t right for me.

Then I moved back to Rapid City, and I was a preschool teacher for about five years, and I realized that’s what I wanted to do, but at a different age level.

What is the difference between teaching preschoolers versus teaching ninth graders?
It’s more similar than you would think. Kids are kids. Really, it’s just talking differently to a ninth grader. Treating them with respect. You explain yourself more to a someone in high school, whereas a preschooler, you tell them to do something, and they do it.

What is the best part of teaching?
Getting to see kids connect with something, when they learn the content, or learn anything in their life. When the lightbulb goes off. It’s very rewarding to see that.

What is the most challenging part of teaching?
Getting the kids motivated to do the work, and keeping them motivated, and building that trust between each other so that they will do the work they need to do.

Do you have anything you do in late summer to prepare for the new school year?
I just start thinking about school a lot more. Then I’m gathering materials, talking to other teachers, preparing that way.

What’s the best way to start a class on the right foot?
Last year, I started with a slideshow about myself and I had them tell me something about themselves. We had a paper snowball fight. We used the paper “snowballs” to talk about challenges they were facing, and then we threw the snowballs away.

I think that learning names as quickly as possible is important. That helps with building trust. Next year, I want to start incorporating more fun activities, games that the classes can do together. Have fun, start the year off in a positive way.

Do you have any, “it’s weird but it works” teaching strategies?
From the preschool, it would just be listening to the kids. That’s really important at the high school level too.

It doesn’t matter if what they say doesn’t make any sense, or if you think what they’re telling you is exaggerated – it’s good to let them see that you’re listening and working to understand what’s going on with them.

How are the ninth grade classes you teach different from when you were a freshman?
The content is mostly the same. But they changed from a regular grading scale to an evidence-based grading system. Basically, you’re grading them on their ability to do certain skills throughout the year. One skill is comprehension. Other skills are conclusions, showing how you can come to your own opinion on the content/subject, and can you articulate your opinion. Another is assessment. Given content – can you understand it and give it back to me? Instead of names and dates from history, it’s more life skills.