Ms. Chism’s Journey From Toys to Teaching

Imagine if your childhood toys would determine what you were going to be when you were older. Few of these jobs would actually be what many end up doing. But for five-year-old Ms. Chism, that’s exactly what happened. “I always knew that being a teacher would be something I enjoyed. I was the kid who was playing teacher with all of my Barbies.” From this young age she knew that she wanted to be a teacher, but as she got older her perception of being a teacher changed. She decided that she wanted to be the teacher that went above and beyond. In her interview, she talked about her old Geometry teacher, Mr. Miller, that “would let her come in once a week in the mornings and would work with [her].” This teacher was the first one that had shown an interest in not only teaching but in going the extra mile.

Ms. Chism had always been interested in Agriculture, she had her own horse when she was growing up, but it wasn’t until college that she realized that that was the passion behind the teaching that she wanted to work in. “It really wasn’t until college that I saw something that I was passionate about teaching, which was Agriculture.”

When she was asked about Woodford, her face lit up. “This is my first time teaching… I love it here, everyone has such a kind and pure heart.” As this year continues she hopes to be able to get to know students past the scores, and to their stories. “I think that the biggest joy in teaching is building relationships with students and knowing what is going on in kids lives.” So, from childhood toys to students, Ms. Chism is ready to teach, and WCHS is happy to have her!