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Biological Science Wiz: Mx. Baird!
Biological Science Wiz: Mx. Baird!
Isabel Hernandez Rodrigues
Biology and science are around us and it's no surprise! Mentors and teachers explain the unknown and how things work, but none are as cool as science teachers. Wanna learn how to collect your own DNA and keep it for yourself just in case you want to clone yourself in the future? Yes please! Mx. Baird has just the lesson for that! They teach a mix of science related things including Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science! Mx. Baird grew up in Moab, Utah, close to the Arches National Park where she did a lot of park service and originally went to college for Environmental Science. I asked them some questions about teaching and what got them into the teaching aspect of science!
I asked Mx. Baird what the most important to them when teaching? She replied with “what is most important to me when teaching is connecting with students and helping them make their own connections between science and their lives.” When teaching, connection should be the ultimate goal when getting students to engage and learn easier and showing students the correlation between the topic they teach and their everyday lives, future teachers take notes! Next, I asked them what inspired them to start teaching and if teaching was something they have wanted to do for a long time. They responded with “I actually didn't know I wanted to be a teacher until I was in college! I originally went to college for Environmental Science, but wasn't completely sure what type of career that would be like. After reflecting, I realized that what I'd be most interested in was working for the parks services since I grew up in Moab, UT. We did a lot with the parks services when I was in grade school.” They continued this quote by saying, “Upon further reflection, I saw that I actually most enjoyed the education aspect of the parks service. So, then I signed up for a teaching class and was totally sold!”. I then asked them what they found challenging about teaching and she gave me a thought-provoking answer “The most challenging thing about teaching is either the time-intensive nature of the job or trying to reach students that have already written off science as "something they don't like" or "something that is boring". The amount of time I spend outside actually teaching really adds up between lesson planning, grading, communicating with colleagues, and setting up/cleaning up labs. I try to come up with new & different things each year because even after 12 years of teaching, there is always something that could work better for different students!”
Seeing what works for some students and not others is a solid strategy in teaching when approaching a lesson! Teaching is something that takes time, effort, planning and setting up. We should appreciate teachers for the amount of time it takes for them to teach students! I asked Mx. Baird one last question; How do they help students with missing work or any assignments students don't understand? Mx. Baird states, “One of the best ways to help students with missing work or assignments they don't understand is to check in & actually talk about it with the student. Sometimes it can be scary for students to ask for clarification or help, so I try as much as possible to start the conversation for them so we can collaborate.” This! Communication is hard for some and it makes a student suffer in silence! It shouldn’t be that way! Teachers should talk to students one-on-one and come up with a solution.
Science is fun when you have the right guidance, attitude and solid advice! You can do so much with science but how will you do anything with science when you don’t have a wicked cool teacher to explain and teach? You might end up injured if you don’t listen and learn from the cool science teacher!