my story: a biology teacher

Scenario: Sitting in a science classroom can seem miles away from a student’s dream of becoming an NFL physiotherapist or a forensic investigator like the ones on CSI. My biggest challenge is keeping all students in the classroom equally engaged and for them to see what they’re learning now will serve them in the future. 

Solution: I found an alum in my school’s Future First database who’s a nutritionist and invited them back to give a guest lecture to my class on digestion. The students were excited about how relevant this particular part of science is – especially as young people’s bodies are growing so quickly and many consider themselves athletes! Our returning alum shared stories about how many of his college friends had to start school during the Summer before the official Fall orientation because they needed to take non-credit remedial classes and make up for the expected science knowledge they were missing.  

I could see the students nod in an “aha” moment when they finally understood that paying just a bit more attention now can mean a lot smoother ride in the future.