Comstock Park — A vocabulary and phonics lesson is rarely the most exciting part of the school day — unless you’re in Grace Olsson’s first-grade class.
There, students clap as they sound out words, hold seated poses while classmates create sentences using vocabulary terms, and race through a list of phonics sounds, recently beating their previous record of 52 seconds by nine seconds.
All of it is to help build enthusiastic, eager and lifelong learners, Olsson said.
Olsson has been with Comstock Park for seven years, and it was her first as a teacher after graduating in 2019 from Ohio’s Miami University.
SNN stopped by Olsson’s first-grade class at Stoney Creek Elementary to talk with her about her passion for teaching and the advice she would give to those entering the field of education.
Why do you teach? “I teach because I have always had a passion for helping kids become enthusiastic, eager, curious, lifelong learners. I love seeing their growth throughout the year, academically and socially. It is incredibly rewarding to watch things ‘click’ for students and to see their understanding of concepts developing in real time, as well as watching their confidence and courage grow.”
What is your biggest motivator that keeps you excited about teaching? “Knowing that I am helping set the tone for these students’ entire academic career. I know that students, especially these littles, will match my enthusiasm for any topic, which helps me stay energized and enthusiastic even on difficult days. I want my students to have a positive association with learning new things, trying things that are difficult and continue (to seek) out new information for the rest of their lives — and it is my job to instill that.”
And it’s not just her students who keep her motivation strong.
“Having a fantastic team of coworkers who are willing to try new things, are always bringing ideas to the table, and sharing resources helps hold me accountable to keep things fresh and ever-changing, too.”
Why first grade/lower elementary? “One of the best things about teaching first grade is that these students bring such a creative, optimistic, energetic outlook into each day, and it is so fun to watch them get excited about learning and mastering new skills. In particular, what drew me to first grade was that it is such a crucial time for reading development and I love seeing the transition from learning to read to reading to learn that happens at this age.”
What are some of the biggest challenges, and how do you strive to meet them? One of the biggest, Olsson said, “is making instruction accessible, relevant and challenging, where needed, for all students, when each class has such a wide variety of abilities.”
“To meet this challenge, I focus heavily on differentiating whole group instruction and providing small group and one-on-one support where I can. We do small groups daily where students could be receiving extra support to reinforce a previous concept or they may be working beyond the first-grade concepts in an enrichment activity to keep them engaged and progressing.
“The goal is to make sure every student feels successful and supported in my classroom.”
What’s the most amazing thing about your students? “There are so many amazing things about my students, and I could brag about them forever! They are kind, helpful, funny, curious, and no two students or two classes are the same.
“But one of the most amazing things to witness every year is how creative and eager to learn they are. We have 20 minutes of ‘imagination station’ every day, where students have access to all kinds of different supplies and can build, write (and) create anything they want to. It always impresses me to see what they come up with, and honestly blows my mind seeing the projects that these students will commit weeks of imagination station time to make.”
What would you say to someone considering teaching as a profession? “I would say ‘Buckle up!’ It is an immensely rewarding, fun and meaningful job to be a part of, preparing the next generation to be compassionate, empathetic and resourceful citizens — and anyone who has the passion to do it, should. It can also be incredibly challenging and chaotic at times, and is not for the faint of heart.”
Read more from Comstock Park:
• ‘It’s all about seeing students discover something for the first time’
• ‘It can be miraculous’
