Get To Know Your Teachers

In this segment I will be having GHS teachers answer interview questions to let the students understand the personal ambitions for their own teachers. Starting with the first addition I will be taking a deeper look in the thoughts of Sara Bowers, a new GHS Math teacher in the new portables. In the description below are the answers to the Interview by Joshua Verduzco.

Sara Bowers

What are the worst and best parts about being a teacher?

• ​For me, the best part of being a teacher is the payoff you get when you can see students learning, especially if they didn't think they could do it. Hearing all of the different perspectives students bring to the classroom and all of the ways they think about problems as well as how they learn to interact and learn from each other is super cool. There's nothing quite like being surrounded by a group of students who care about each other and push each other to be successful because I know those are traits that are going to continue to make life for everyone better.

• My greatest challenge in teaching (other than the fact that there is never enough time to do everything I want to for my students) is making sure EVERY student gets the material, especially when some of them don't believe they can do it. Watching someone give up on themselves is really hard, but it's also what fuels my fire to keep teaching and not give up on anyone.

Why do you think some students think of school in a negative way?

• ​Oh goodness; I think students tell a lot of different stories for why they don't like school and some of them are valid. Sometimes it's hard to see the purpose or application for the things you are trying to learn or you don't feel respected or heard at school. Ultimately though I think it boils down to feelings of success. People like things that make them feel good about themselves, like they are successful. If someone feel behind at one point, school stopped feeling like a success and feels more like a threat to their future because they don't know if they can make it. Most of the problems in my classroom go away as soon as students start to see and feel their learning improve.

What did you used to love and hate about highschool?

• ​I loved learning to be honest. I loved the challenge of getting it and pushing my brain. I hated the drama and pettiness and unkindness I saw so often in the interactions between students.

What do you think are ways to keep students enthusiastic and positive about coming to school?

• ​Making sure they are learning and that we are validating their perspectives. They need to not only feel successful in class but also like their perspectives matter both in content and culture. We need to make sure the things that are important to them are incorporated in our classes so that they feel like active agents in their education.

What motivated you in high school to finish strong?

• ​Knowing that I was going to college and had the opportunity to finally be the person I wanted to instead of the person everyone thought I was. I was really excited for the fresh start and the freedom and it pushed me to end high school proud of how I did.

What describes a winning mentality to you?

• ​I know I can do it if I keep trying different ideas and learning from the perspective of others. It's ok to make a mistake-you only fail when you aren't willing to listen to a different perspective or when you don't trust your own ideas.

How much of a role do you think you play in every student's education and life?

• ​​I think that depends on the students because different people take messages different ways and may look to a variety of people for support or guidance. I do however know that my words and actions have the potential to have great impact (positive or negative) and that I need to choose them wisely with that in mind.

What is the difference in perspective from your first day of teaching to your perspective today?

​My first day, I kinda knew what I wanted the culture of my classroom to be like but I was really uncertain of how to make it happen. I didn't know how to push students and still prove that I cared and I really didn't know how to hold them accountable for what I was asking them to do. Now, I feel like I am more confident in my abilities to really get students to follow along and make sure they are learning. I have a better idea of what I want my classroom to be like AND I know many more strategies I can use to make it happen.

What has been a difficult moment in your career that made you a better teacher afterwards?​

• ​There has only been one time in my young teaching career where the words a student said had me crying on the way home-and it wasn't because he was being unkind or rude or angry. This student refused to do any work in class so I told him he had to come in at lunch. In trying to get to the bottom of his lack of effort, he told me that he truly believed he would never pass the state tests to graduate so there was no point in trying. It hit me at my heart because he was almost in tears and I could tell he had lost basically all hope and confidence in himself, a mentality I don't wish on anyone. This conversation made me a better teacher because it proved to me that even students who seem like they 'don't care' or 'don't want to learn' really do, you just have to figure out what is stopping them. I now push all of my students to believe in themselves and know that they matter before I push content on them because I know that is the true first step in learning.