The teacher spotlight is on Mrs. Shoffner

Mrs. Shoffner

What subject do you teach? I teach middle grades English/Language Arts

​What do you like most about teaching? I like having the potential to help young people enhance their literacy skills. I also enjoy planning and being able to be creative with my lessons.

​What is the most challenging thing about teaching? The most challenging thing about teaching is the classroom leadership aspect. When creating norms, procedures, and routines for transitions, group work, independent work, and other things, it can be tough to anticipate what is to come or how a lesson may turn out.

How do you feel about having to teach remotely from home versus being in the classroom? I enjoy being able to teach remotely because it allows me to have more autonomy. I can plan the curriculum that I would like to teach with more freedom. Of course, the content must be based on state standards.

What advice would you give to an aspiring teacher? My advice would be to manage all expectations. Set the bar high, but do not be disappointed if things do not work out the way that you wanted them to. Teaching is all about trial and error. If something does not work well the first time, do the 3 R’s: Reflect on what went wrong and how it can be made better, research new methods of teaching, and re-implement those ideas in a different way.