We’re introducing you to our TCS teachers! So far, you’ve met the Middle Grades team ( Todd, Katie, Sally, Kelly), the Fifth Grade Team (Michelle, Lucius, Julia, Paul), the Fourth Grade team (Joe, Lynn, Jocelyn, Randy) and specialists Kelley and Michele Smith.
Today, we’re introducing you to Callie, TCS librarian!
Callie has been at TCS since 2001 when she taught first grade with Maryann. She became the librarian the following school year and has been there ever since! Before she came to TCS, she spent two years as an AmeriCorps member, leading after-school programs for middle school students and organizing literacy volunteers.
What skills do you hope your students will learn by the time they leave TCS and how are you preparing them to learn these skills?
I hope my students will love reading and have the ability to empathize and connect with other people through stories and the power of their own imaginations. I hope they leave with unquenchable curiosity and a sense of wonder, along with the ability to think critically. I share a lot of different kinds of stories with students and I think the joy and enthusiasm I express makes an impression. I also teach students the inquiry skills they need to be effective, ethical users and creators of ideas and information, such as developing questions, evaluating resources, taking notes and citing sources.
What about teaching makes you excited to come to school every day?
I like the fact that each day is different and that I get to see students make such incredible progress over the years. Every day I look forward to the wide range of conversations and interactions I have with students.
Tell us about one of the most rewarding moments in your teaching career.
Perhaps the absolute best thing about my job is that there are truly a hundred rewarding moments happening each day as kids find books they are excited to check out and read. There is nothing quite as rewarding as having a student or parent simply say, “Hey, thanks for recommending that book!”
If you could meet any fictional or historical figure, who would it be?
Reading is such an immersive experience for me that I feel as though I’ve already met many of the fictional characters I’ve encountered. I’d love to travel back in time to hear Sojourner Truth deliver her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech.
What is something none of your students know about you?
It doesn’t come up very often, so few students know I had an entirely different career in the film industry before I started teaching.
