Anne Straume, 3rd Grade Teacher, Meriwether Lewis Elementary School
What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
The world of education is changing at a rapid-fire pace. Information is boundless. How best to use it all is continuously on my mind.
What’s the most common misconception about your job?
That it’s a job. Teaching is most definitely NOT a job. It’s a wonderful lifestyle and culture unto itself.
Where do you see the teaching field in five years?
I think teaching will look very different from what was/is currently in place, as teaching and learning are not static entities. Obviously technology has expanded our abilities and created a whole new level of expertise. The Maker Movement will give rise to younger and younger students creating, inventing, and coding with the world. The future physical plant of a school building will enable collaboration, transparency, multi-aged groupings, and global connections on a 24-7 scale. Students will learn how to handle a constant stream of knowledge while becoming critical thinkers and problem-solvers. They will be given the opportunity to pursue their passions. Meta-cognition will be tantamount in one’s educational experience.
What outside experience prepared you best to become a teacher?
My mother had always wanted to be a teacher. She was a very patient and bright woman and would have made a wonderful educator; however, she had to quit school in 1929 during the Depression to help support her family. She always respected the profession and I grew up listening to her accolades regarding any and all teachers. One of my former students asked why I wanted to be a teacher and I relayed this same story. “Ms. Straume, you are living her dream,” the student said to me. And what a fabulous dream it’s been!
