Q: What got you into teaching?
A: I got into teaching because growing up, I had many opportunities in education. Because of this, I started to believe so much in education and caring for others to be educated to their best ability. 




Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching?
A: I enjoy seeing those moments when students have that light in their eyes when they understand a concept after struggling with it before. 




Q: Have you taught at any other school and if so, where did you teach before?
A: I taught a lot in Fort Smith, Van Buren, and Greenwood in Arkansas. I spent most of my years there. Then in 2018, I worked at Poteau for a year, Arkoma for a year, Shady Point for 2 years, and finally here at Howe. 




Q: What subjects do you teach now?
A: I teach both 6th grade math classes, both 8th grade math classes, and 1 6th grade Science class. 




Q: What do you enjoy most about Math and Science?
A: I like interesting topics in Science. Math has always been something I was good at, so I like teaching others what I know in a subject that they may not like to hopefully get them to like it more. 


Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching?
A: I enjoy the difference of the days. I have had monotonous jobs before and it was very boring. Teaching is different every day. There is no one day that I get bored from teaching and just want to do something else. 




Q: In what ways do you try to connect with your students?
A: I try to connect to students by talking to them about what they do in their daily lives. I have students who like to hunt, fish, read, are interested in cars, etc. That I am also interested in or know stuff about. I also try to connect to my students on an emotional level, hoping that they feel comfortable around me and don't see me as some strange person trying to teach them. 




Q: Whenever you're teaching do you ever see your younger self in your students? 
A: Oh, yes. I see myself in so many of my students. I think that is one thing that I like best about my students. I can see where I have done the same things as what they are doing and I can kind of give them some advice so that they don't make the same mistakes as I did. 




Q: How has teaching impacted your life?
A: I think teaching has impacted my life greatly. I think it has made me a better mom, for instance. I believe that by learning about other children, I understood my own children a little better. 




Q: What is most challenging about your job?
A: The most challenging thing about my job is probably handling all the different personalities. Sometimes it feels like whiplash when you have 79 students, each with a different personality and then they have bad days on top of that, only to have better days the next and I don't mean that in a bad way, but sometimes it throws me for a loop. 




Q: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you and your role at Howe Public Schools?
A: I went to graduate school a few years ago to get my Master's degree in Educational Leadership. I believe that by doing that, it has made me a better teacher in understanding how schools are run, how decisions are made, and how I can best be an asset to my students. I feel better about being a teacher here at Howe because of my past experiences, past education, and past relationships with colleagues and students.