Where do you teach? Farmer Elementary School ,Jefferson County
What subject(s)/grade(s) do you teach? 1st grade
How many years have you taught? 26
Why did you become a teacher? I became a teacher because I enjoy working with children.
What has been the best part of teaching that you didn’t expect when entering the profession?
The best part of teaching is January. I love the consistency with which I see growth in a student’s confidence in reading, writing and math in January. Perhaps there is some science of human development that couples with the curriculum and maybe even the barometric pressure at that time of year that produces these results. I’m not sure, but I know that each year as we metaphorically crawl through the month of January I am going to have a front row seat to some amazing moments of students feeling empowered by what they can do after months of hard work.
What is one thing you wish non-teachers knew about what you do? Teaching is a performance event. If you are really good, you figure out how to be the stage crew:)
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as a teacher? Professionally my greatest accomplishment has been achieving National Board Certification. I am thankful for the opportunities it gave me to reflect on and inform my teaching practices each day.
What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t teaching? When I am not teaching I enjoy being a wife and mom. Together my family enjoys riding bikes, cooking and listening to live music.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Purely for myself I would have to say flying. I think there would be a lot of freedom in that power. To actually be an agent of change in the world I would like the ability to converse with animals.
Social media handles: Instagram: amy.kopp1972, Twitter: @AmyRKopp, LinkedIn: Amy Kopp, Facebook: Amy Steffan Kopp