Anne Straume, Third Grade, Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

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!
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