Episode Details

Superintendent:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. What is it like for a teacher working from home during the school dismissal in what might be a kitchen turned into a classroom today? We hear from Jordan School District Teacher of the Year, Rachelle Smith, about teaching during these difficult times and how she is finding success in making learning fun. I also stopped by her virtual classroom and talk to some very bright and animated sixth grade students about their at-home learning experience. We are here with Rachelle Smith, the current reigning Teacher of the Year in Jordan School District. She and I have met a number of times and she's a delightful person, a wonderful teacher who is wildly popular among her students and faculty. So I'm really excited to have the chance to talk with her. Just before we started, we were both talking about how nice it is to connect with someone outside of our homes in this very strange time. I love to do the interviews in person, but the Zoom interviews at least give us a chance to continue with the Supercast. So Rachelle welcome. It's great to have you.

Rachelle:
Thank you. I'm really excited. Like I said earlier, before we were recording, this is me going out, so it's good to connect with people and to see other faces. It's awesome.

Superintendent:
You miss your kids, I have no doubt.

Rachelle:
It's been rough. We see each other as much as we can.

Superintendent:
Yeah. I'm absolutely sure that they're missing you desperately as well. You're teaching sixth grade this year. Tell me what you love about being a sixth grade teacher.

Rachelle:
You know, I was a little bit worried. I taught first grade for 11 years and decided to make that jump to sixth grade this year. I was just a little bit worried because my heart was really in first grade, but I knew that I had a calling to do something else as well. So really they surprised me. The kids are awesome. They laugh at my jokes.

First of all, I am the smartest funniest person in that room and they really make you feel loved. So they're not much different in that way. I feel like first graders come in and they already love you. You're their teacher, but you have to work a little bit harder with sixth graders. And I feel like I won them over. And then this happened, so I feel like we're incomplete, but we're still working on it, you know, with our Zoom classes and everything like that.

Superintendent:
You're incomplete. That's a really good way of putting it.

Rachelle:
There's a real cycle to the year. Each month feels different. And going through the year you grow together. They get to know every outfit you own. You get to know everything about them, and that is missing. That's a big missing piece and I'd almost rather have a chunk in the middle of the year and get the beginning and end than to have the year end and not be able to connect.

I remember the day so vividly. It seems like it was forever ago, but it was just six weeks ago one of my students said to me before we were leaving for that day, "Hey, Mrs. Smith. I probably won't see you for a long time. And I thought, what are you talking about? I will see you on Monday. We have another week before we go off track. And he said, "No, I'm pre