Why did you become a teacher?
I knew I always wanted to be a teacher. When I was little, it was because I just loved school so much. As an adult, it was: what career can I do that's going to make a difference every single day, that's going to have a legacy, a lasting impact that's going to make future generations better? And so, as I've always wanted to be a teacher, that definitely changed as I got older into what can I do? What can I do to make a difference? And, that is my goal every single day. What can I do today to make a difference in a kid's life?
I want to make memories with them that will last a lifetime. So, I am hoping that those things come alive in my lessons. So potential and kinetic energy is not boring. They'll always remember when they're riding a roller coaster. This is the potential energy. Oh, now we're in kinetic energy. I know it sounds crazy, but I want I want my class to be memorable in more ways than one.
What does your average day look like?
I do early morning tiger care. So, I'm here 6:30 in the morning greeting kids as they come in, as their parents are dropping them off in the morning. I have a plan time, but I try to make a point to go in the hallway so I can see my scientists and welcome them into the school. And then I teach every grade (K-fourth), so every hour another grade level is coming up and we're doing engineering, we're doing science; something exciting, and I have five minutes in between each class to kind of get that experiment or that engineering project out of the way and be prepared for the next grade to come in. Going into this role, I never taught kindergarten. I knew I would be teaching K through four and I was only used to fourth grade. So, I think coming in I was nervous to teach the little ones the kindergartners, but I have to tell you, I love it and I never would have known. (editor's note: Chelsea has been teaching for 14 years.)
What are your long-term goals / what keeps you motivated?
I want to be in the classroom all the time. I know other teachers have different goals. I know I need to be with the kids, like that's where my heart is. That's where my passion is. And so, I think just my long-term goal is for the future generations: make sure that they are empathetic, empathetic, loving and caring. Give every kid that comes in my room the confidence to know that they're capable. And as Miss Frizzle says, and they know I live by this motto in here, take chances, make mistakes, get messy if they leave me at the end of fourth grade knowing those things, then I know I've made a difference. So, that's my future goal is just to teach the future generations those things. And I think our world would be a better place for it.
When they get up in my room. Every kid can engineer something, can build something, can run a science experiment, can problem solve. And so, I think giving those kids that confidence that you are capable of doing anything, I think will carry over to anything else that they do.
What are some stressors?
The best thing about our job is that it matters every second of every day. That's also a catch-22, because some days, the worst thing about our job is that it matters every second of every day. You have to be on all the time. So yeah, it's stressful in that aspect of no matter what is going on in my personal life or my home life, I have to be here with a smile every day. And while I love my job and that's very easy. I mean, everyone has things that happen outside of school. Where most jobs you can kind of turn it off when you leave, we still go home and we think about our kids and we worry about our kids, and we wonder if our kids are happy. And that's just, I think comes from the heart of being a teacher.
We don't have the luxury of a job where it's like you walk in and then when you walk out, you're done. We are constantly: how can I make this lesson better? How can I bring excitement to my lesson tomorrow? Oh, I wonder how that kid is doing. I hope this kid was happy or is going home happy. And so, you don't turn off your teacher brain ever. Your teacher brain and your teacher heart (are) just always on. So, you just have to be everything for all the kids, all the time, every day. And while that's wonderful, that can also be stressful. It takes a certain person; it takes a certain heart. And if you don't have that, then you're not in the right profession. And quite honestly, you shouldn't be in this profession if you don't have a passion for it and you don't want to bring that pizazz to your kids and your classroom every day because your kids deserve that, all the kids deserve that and they need that. I'm going to take it back to Miss Frizzle. Take chances, make mistakes, get messy. Because I think that those don't just pertain to science. Take chances. Be all in. Make mistakes. There's a solution to every single problem you come across and get messy. Everything can be cleaned up. Be present in the moment. Be joyful in every moment. There's not too big of a mess that can't be cleaned up.