Camilla

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because I always enjoyed school and honestly wanted to stay in that setting. I want to encourage students to enjoy the learning process and learn because they are curious, not because they have an obligation to learn. I work with learners who have learning barriers, like autism, intellectual disabilities, or extreme deficits across reading and writing. These learners may be harder to inspire, but I love seeing the connection happen.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience, among many, has been letting students see their own personal growth. At the beginning of the year, students choose a small pothos plant and take a picture with it. I use this as a metaphor for how learning is not fast or instant, but something that happens over time. Students water their plants on Fridays and come to nurture and get excited over their plants! Then at the end of the year, they take a new picture and they get to see that growth.

What would you do with the $25,000?

First, I would buy everyone lab coats and goggles for the Bill Nye Experience. I want to get everyone hyped if that money is there in time. Then, all the remaining money would go back into Morrison-Gordon Elementary. This is the school that made me the teacher we are today. We are in Southeast Ohio, a truly under resourced and impoverished region of the state and within Appalachia. I would give money to help our learning lab, buy new materials (going as far as hygiene, food, and clothes).