Miss. Anderson is currently a long term substitute at the New Castle Jr/Sr High School filling in for Mrs. Flora in her art room and she is also a late addition to the 2023-24 school year. I took the opportunity to ask her some questions and get to know her a little better. Enjoy the interview Canes!

• Where did you go to college and what did you major in?
  • I went to Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA and I majored in Art and Education
• Why did you want to become a teacher?
  • I don’t think you know at 6 years old what you actually want to do for a living. I don’t think even while seeking higher education I knew what I wanted to do for a living. It was more like the “I want to be a ___ when I grow up.”  and the train kept rolling along. I sorta picked something that checked as many boxes of importance to me as I could. Being older now and able to look back in hindsight, I think the passion I had during those college years were more about my abilities rather than my desires. Now that I ventured off the beaten path and am returning to teaching, I see that I have an unmatched desire and passion to teach which has been different from the “well, I’m really good at it” previous mindset. Definitely a few cobwebs to brush off, but in the last week I have loved getting to watch that click moment when students finally get the lesson or are surprised in their abilities.
• Is this your first teaching experience?
  • This is not my first experience. I had a similar long term art substitute position for McGuffey School district and ultimately they consolidated the position. I’ve been a substitute for New Castle for multiple years until 2018 I went and got my Commercial Driver’s License. Yes, driving semi trucks in downtown Pittsburgh as a student driver. Very Scary. Very Cool. I’ve also been an assistant manager at a photography studio and was set to move down to Georgia to manage their store down there.
• Why did you pick New Castle?
  • I was born and raised here
• What are some of your favorite lessons to teach?
  • My favorite lesson plan was a 2 & 3rd grade lesson on lines and types of lines. It was “whole brain learning,” which means it involved the entire body. As I gave my instruction everyone stood and would follow my movements, parrot my words and it was the greatest teaching tool I have used by far. SO much so that when I went to the high school for my AM classes, I had a teacher approach me about her daughter’s passion to repeat all of my lesson at home. Not just the motions describing the types of line, but the historical context of the artists I introduced to them. The parent said she had never seen her daughter so excited to get back to school after those lessons and I was so stoked to make even greater lesson plans with those techniques going forward. I also think the whole brain technique greatly strengthened me as a teacher because I needed to be so incredibly prepared to keep their attention and confident with my instructions, repetitions, and expectations.

• What are your expectations of your students in terms of behavior and academic performance?
  • My classroom is very much meant to be a space for you to learn and learn from your mistakes. I do love when students talk and communicate and try to help their peers make their work even better with observation and positive critique. My very basic rules: respect me and stay quiet when you are receiving instructions and respect others verbally, physically and in the space you occupy
• Do you have any hobbies outside of school?
  • I do dog shows with my samoyed, Bumble! I also crochet, create and cook. I am currently doing renovations in my house which take up a majority of my free time, but if I’m entirely honest, right now I don’t have a lot of free time.

• What do you least like about teaching?
  • Attendance. Tests. Bells. 

• What do you most like about teaching?
  • When students are so zoned in and focused on their project. I also love when it is lesson plan introduction time. I get so giddy to share all the information with them. I over-prepare and am ready to rapid fire for Q&A. I make sure to share as much of the nerdy stuff as I can including historical and social context and I think that allows students to connect to the material.

• What is your teaching philosophy?
  • I‘ll bring passion to my art and teaching so that students can bring art into their souls. Art soaks and envelopes culture, so without bringing that into the classroom, your students are stranded with no ability to bridge their reality to their learning.

• Do you plan to stay long term in the district after this school year in a full time position?

  • I will be here for the rest of the semester and that is the only thing that is set in stone.

• If you did not become a teacher what would you have done?
  • Choosing what to do with my life was probably the hardest thing I have had to do. I was good at a lot of things which made narrowing down direction incredibly difficult. Physics/Math? I was great. But I really liked art. Today’s answer is that I really like musical theatre, and I would have liked to go for lighting and set design.

Hopefully she has a great end of the year, Thanks for reading canes!