Meet Walking Classroom Ambassador Amy Schott. Amy teaches fifth grade at Fox Road Elementary in North Carolina. She has worked in education for over 23 years, and next school year will be her third year using The Walking Classroom.
What are your memories of yourself when you were that age?
I loved to read. Trixie Belden books and The Chronicles of Narnia were some of my favorites. I would ride my bike to my friend’s houses and play with my brother.
What led you to become an educator?
At first, I wanted to be a lawyer, but then decided I couldn’t fight for something I didn’t believe was right. I was allowed to do an internship during my senior year in high school, and my mom suggested teaching. She said I was always babysitting or tutoring friends, so it would be a good fit. I was placed in a second grade class and loved it!
Share your educational philosophy in one to three sentences.
Every child can learn and should be given the chance to learn. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds aren’t always given as many chances to develop vocabulary and experiences, so they need to be given as many of these opportunities at school as I can provide.
What is your favorite content area/topic to teach? Why?
I love to teach science. Math and reading are usually dependent on the instruction a student has already had. Science is fresh — every child has the same opportunities to learn and I can make it exciting and fun for them. No one starts out “behind.”
What is your favorite podcast or Walking Classroom memory and why?
At the beginning of this year, we were on a walk in the building, and an older teacher fell in the hallway. I stopped to help her and wait with her until first responders arrived. My students independently finished, walking silently around the building. They were so into the podcast that they ignored the commotion and kept going.
A few times, subs or teachers have stopped to ask me what the children are so intently listening to. They don’t believe me when my answer is “Alliteration,” “Westward Expansion,” or “Persuasive Writing”!
What is your best teaching memory?
Light bulb moments, students standing up for each other and to each other, students helping one another, and my fifth grade babies remembering me in the future and inviting me to graduations, weddings, and baby showers!
What advice would you give to a new teacher?
You are not going to win at everything every day. Each day find a couple things you are proud of (they will be there, even on bad days!) and ONE thing you want to try to improve on the next day. Let your kids know you expect them to do their best and be their best because you love them.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to read, play with my pug, and go on adventures with my husband.
Name something you’d like to cross off your bucket list.
I would love to go to a Spanish speaking country so I can practice my Spanish speaking skills.
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