Jenn Choumil
Honors Biology, Anatomy and Physiology Teacher, McLean High School, McLean | Years teaching: 9
❝ A lot of students come into my class thinking they’re not that great at science. I’ve heard students say, “This is the first science class I’ve really done well in.” I just want them to have confidence in what they’re doing and what they’re learning.
❝ I like to tell my students to fail forward.
If you seemingly fail at something, there’s always a lesson to be learned. And that helps you move forward the next time.
❝ I wear T-shirts with memes on them. I have a T-shirt that says “cell-fie” and it’s a cell taking a picture of itself. We do a chicken wing dissection, so I have a shirt that looks like a ballot and says “left wing, right wing, chicken wing” with the last one checked off. When I teach about water, I wear Mickey Mouse ears because the ears are shaped like a water molecule. The two ears are the hydrogen; the head part’s the oxygen.
❝ One memorable student wasn’t the best as far as grades go, but grades are relative. She would walk into my class every day with a smile and you couldn’t help smiling. Her happiness was just contagious. And she got along with everybody.
❝ Some students could do much better if they just put in a little more effort. I know they could. But they just don’t do it.
❝ I try to structure my class with a lower stress level, especially with the anatomy segment. Homework is optional, for the most part. If there is homework, it’s really not more than 10 or 15 minutes. I realize they have other classes. I also want them to just be able to sleep. And have fun.