Ms. Bear is a new 6th grade dual language science teacher at Lively, this is her 1st year teaching and she is very excited to be part of the Lively team and watch her students grow. I had the opportunity to interview her in her classroom.
What is your name and position at Lively?
I’m Ms. Bear and I am a 6th grade dual language science teacher.
Tell me about your education, what degrees or certifications do you have?
I went to U.T. and I got a bilingual education degree. That’s Pre-K through 6th grade.
What’s your history in teaching?
So this is my first year teaching, I’m excited, I just graduated so everything’s been moving really fast but I’ve been trying my best to stay on target.
If you could pick any grade to teach, what would it be and why?
My plan was to teach Pre-K but I spent my student teaching year with 5th graders and since then I’ve found it easier to talk to and connect with students the older they get, so I would say 6th grade.
What led you to Lively?
Sandra Springer was my coordinator at U.T. She actually worked here for a couple years before she went to U.T. and she told me that Lively is an amazing school with an awesome community and she found the student population something really special. Now that I’m here I can see why.
What do you love about Lively so far?
Definitely the diversity. I personally didn’t go to a very diverse school so, in middle school there weren’t that many people like me and when I got to high school it was the same thing. But being here, you get everyone from all different walks of life. And then the staff here is really supportive of each other as well.
What made you want to become a teacher?
My dad had been a teacher for 15 years and my mom had also been an educator too. So growing up I never wanted to do that. But I slowly realized that I’ve been around this for so long and it’s something very comfortable to me.
You said you didn’t always want to be a teacher, what did you want to do instead?
Journalism. I think the thing about that for me was that in high school I was in a school newspaper and I realized that I really like that one on one connection with people. So I was thinking about what job would allow me to work face to face with people all the time. I figured that teaching would fill that gap.
What inspires you?
Music, I’m looking to start a music analysis and creation club. I make music and I understand how much people can be drawn to it. I’m really into sound design and the science behind music. So, yeah, I would say that inspires me a lot.
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Finding a way to merge my music-y, communications side with my more sociological teacher side into something.
Why did you decide to teach science?
I chose science because if I taught English I would carry around a lot of potential preconceptions about English and the way the language should be learned. So English might be too emotional for me and I was never great at memorizing things so Social Studies wasn’t right either. So I figured science would be great because you’re talking about the Earth, it’s very concise. But, I’m more of the A in STEAM so it hasn’t come the easiest to me.
What’s the best part about teaching?
The students, they make it all worth it and they make you want to try.
What’s the worst part about teaching?
All the adult stuff, honestly, there’s a lot of behind the scenes stuff that’s not very easy for a new teacher to handle all at once.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would live in Mexico City!
What classes did you take when you were in middle school?
In middle school, I was the theater kid, that was my big thing. I wanted to be in band but I never signed up. That’s one thing I wish I would’ve done, I wish I would’ve known about band.
What was your favorite subject in school?
Texas History, I think. Texas History was really cool and I loved English too.
If you could take any teacher’s class at Lively what would it be and why?
I would love to see Mr. Nava’s Model UN because I’m terrible at arguing anything and I think it would be really cool to see kids doing that.
Do you have any final thoughts to add?
I feel like Lively is a very special place and there’s this thing, like a community spark, almost and I think Lively has that and that’s what makes it such a great place.
