What made you decide to become a teacher?
My senior year of high school, I did an internship with the first grade teacher, and that sparked my interest in teaching. I student taught in a second grade classroom. That experience did not go well, to the point I thought about going back to college to get a different degree. But I stuck with it and I ended up going to Iroquois and taught middle school math and K-8 PE, and I found that worked really well for me.

After Iroquois, I went to Pierre for four years, taught sixth grade math; then from there I went to Gettysburg.

What is the best part of teaching?
The relationships you get to build with students, getting to be a part of their lives. And, of course, when you have those kids who come back years later and thank you.

I get to see most of our students throughout the day. I see a lot of kids throughout the day, and I get to see them as they grow up, which is so cool.

Then there’s “aha” moments in math -- I did not love math when I was their age. For me, it was in college, when I found a teacher who made it click for me, and that’s when I grew to love math.

What is the most challenging part of teaching?
The different levels of students that you are trying to reach and match their individual needs. My master’s is in differentiated instruction, so I have the training, but it’s so difficult when you have 22 students with 15 different levels.

And, keeping up with technology. There are so many tools to learn, I’m sure they’re wonderful, but it really takes a lot to take the time to figure out how to make it do all of the things its capable of. Sometimes the kids are able to figure it out and show me.

As far as the kids using technology when they’re not supposed to, that can be difficult too. We took away cellphones this year, and that has been a wonderful thing. That’s been a positive thing for our kids, to not have that distraction.

If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice at the start of your career, what would that advice be?
I would say take time for your family and yourself. I think when I first started, I was so married to my job, sometimes we can burn out pretty easily. When I started, I was teaching full time and I coached volleyball, basketball, and track. I loved it, but it was a lot, and I learned that you have to take time for yourself and don’t get burnt out on the little stuff.

And also, never stop learning. Go to the workshops, learn from fellow teachers. It’s important for new teachers to know that it’s okay when we’re first- and second-year teachers to ask those questions of the veteran teachers.

Do you have any, “it’s weird but it works” strategies?
I don’t know if it’s a weird strategy. A lot of times math is taught when the teacher is the sage on the stage.

I don’t do that -- I’m more the guide on the side. Students learn on their own, and I guide them. They work in study teams, and I walk around and answer questions if they need it.

In math, there’s not necessarily only one way to solve a problem. There are more ways to solve that problem than just my way, and having those small groups helps kids figure out what works for them.

We use a lot of cooperative learning groups in math, and it’s been great for our school. We have the same curriculum from 6-12, so there’s consistency, and we keep building on what we have already learned.

It’s so interesting, to watch them learn in those cooperative learning groups. It’s new in sixth grade, but by seventh grade, they get a rhythm, and it just really works for them.

What is one thing about teaching that people (or non-teachers) don’t seem to know about teaching?
The time we put into it -- a lot of people think we show up to work at 8:00 and we leave at 3:30. And that’s not the case. We’re planning, we’re putting in grades. It’s a lot of time, and I don’t think people realize how much time it really takes to be a teacher.

When I got married, my husband thought I worked from 8-3:30, and you don’t work in the summer. But he found out that during that time, we’re planning, we’re educating ourselves, we’re getting those credits so that we can keep our certification.

You have been teaching for some time now. What is one thing that has changed about education over the years that you have been teaching?
It goes back to the technology. When I started teaching, there weren’t all of these fancy tools. And even cell phones, we didn’t have them before.

There are so many things we have now, where we can do a survey, and make a graph from the answers in just a little time, and that’s pretty great.

I think the technology and the speed you can do things changes the kids too. You see them a lot more connected to their devices.

That’s a nice thing about the cell phone policy – it makes them interact more with each other, and it’s been great to see that.

What is one thing that has stayed constant over the years?
The kids – in middle school – they still want to come to school, and they want to learn. They still have that – as much as they might moan about having to come, but I think when it comes down to it, I think they like coming to school and being a part of that.

Do you have anything to add?
I have an awesome job, I love it, we have a great staff at Gettysburg. I think that when you have a great staff and great students, it makes coming to work every day a dream.