By Kassandra Salisbury
Carmen Williamson taught sixth grade at Elwood Public Schools for two years, and now she teaches both junior high and high school. She taught for many years before coming to Elwood Public Schools.
“Nineteen years -- I taught five years at Southern Valley; two at McCook St. Pat's; ten at Arapahoe; and this is the beginning of my third year at Elwood!” said Williamson.
Williamson attended Kearney State College (UNK) to become a teacher. She teaches a variety of classes at Elwood Public Schools.
“I teach 7th grade math and science, 8th grade math, Applied Math 1 & 2, and NMRP,” she explained.
Williamson said there are many things to love about teaching.
“My favorite thing about teaching..... Where do I even begin! The kids are fantastic and I love to see when a struggling math student finally ‘gets’ an idea that they've been trying to figure out,” she said. “It's great to see a group of kids progress with their skills throughout the year. I really love trying to figure out new ways that make math and science more interesting to students so they see the relevance to their lives. Summers off and snow days are an added bonus!”
Even though Williamson enjoys teaching, she says there are some challenges..
“My biggest challenge in teaching is getting all of the students to WANT to learn, and not only learn but do their very best,” commented Williamson. “There's a lot of kids that have had experiences at home or school that makes wanting a great education not a priority. For instance, if a student feels like they don't fit in or are having lots of hard things happening at home, it's going to be tough for them to say, ‘Yay! I want to learn all about irrational numbers today!’”
Williamson encourages students at Elwood School to be open to learning.
“My advice for Elwood students is to open your minds to the possibilities that school is offering you. It might not always be ‘fun’ to learn something new, but it's preparing you to do whatever you dream of doing once you graduate and leave this school,” she said “I want the very best for each student. I don't know what information you'll need in your future but neither do you, so the best we can do is teach you as much as you can learn!”
So far, Williamson is enjoying the grade level change.
“I've spent the previous 19 years teaching at the elementary level and it was great but teaching on ‘the other side’ of the building in junior high and senior high is even better!” she explained.
Williamson has many hobbies outside of school.
“Outside of school I love spending time with my family. Most weekends all of my kids and grandchildren come over (usually for Sunday dinner) and we spend the rest of the day just being together and doing whatever,” she said. “Lots of times it involves food because I love cooking and baking, but other times it means going on vacations together, going to school events for the grandkids, birthday parties, etc.”