January Teacher Feature

“Sometimes the questions are complicated but the answers are simple.” 

~Dr. Seuss

Willow Christen is in her ninth year of teaching kindergarten at Clearbrook-Gonvick and she loves it! She actually started in the district in 2004 as a part-time School Readiness and ECFE teacher and pre-school screening coordinator.  Willow grew up on a farm in rural Fosston where she also attended school. She went to Northwest Technical College in Detroit Lakes for one year, then started at Bemidji State University for education. She decided to specialize in Early Childhood Education after her first year of classes.

Willow and her husband, Scott, have a daughter, Zoey, who is in eighth grade, and son, Will, who is in fifth grade.

Why did you choose to be a teacher? Teaching was actually not my first choice. I was really leaning toward something in the medical field….until I did a clinical- then I was undecided again. I spent a summer coaching baseball for Summer Rec and teaching swimming lessons, then decided that teaching was what I wanted to pursue. 

What did you do before coming to Clearbrook-Gonvick? After finishing college in 2003, I subbed for a year and also worked at T-Bears in Fosston and waitressed, too. 

What is the best part of your job at Clearbrook-Gonvick? I think the best part of working at Clearbrook-Gonvick is the staff I work with and the feeling of community and family that is here in the building when you walk in.

What is the biggest challenge of your job?  I would have to say that the biggest challenge of teaching, especially kindergarten, is trying to decide what to present and what to leave out each year since each class is so different. 

If you could have any job in the world - what would it be? Why?  I am not sure what job it would be, but I would love to travel with that job…… I enjoy seeing other parts of the United States and beyond!

What do you do when you are not working at the school? Well, if I am not moving children around from event to event, in the summer I would be working in my yard and garden or reading a book. If it is during the school year, I am probably enjoying watching volleyball, football, or basketball games. I especially enjoy college basketball.

Describe a wish or hope you have for the New Year 2018 - either personal or professional. I hope that there is time this summer for a family vacation- it just gets so busy! But, we love road trips! I also hope the 2018 year has great things for all the Minnesota sports teams. We are always sooo close! It is exciting to watch the teams and feel the pride with all the other fans!

What are your favorite aspects of the Clearbrook-Gonvick community?  I love all the great people and families that I have met over the past 14 years. It is a very caring area of multiple small towns coming together to be one strong community for the students and the people who live here. 

 

And now a word or two about Mrs. Christen from her students…

Mrs. Christen loves to sing. What do you think her favorite song is? “She loves to sing happy songs.”  “Church songs.” “Happy and you know it.” “Bedtime songs to her kids.” “Maybe the alphabet? She knows all the words.” “The days of the week.” “Frosty the Snowman.”

What do you think Mrs. Christen does when she is not at school? “She misses us.” “Lays on the couch.” “Goes to the dentist.” “She is sick.” “Cleans her room.” “Goes to see a doctor.” “Watches TV.” “Works in her closet.”

What is the best thing about Mrs. Christen? “She is really nice.” “That she teaches us.” “She is my teacher.” “She lets us have playtime.” “She has a nice reading voice.” “She is funny.” “Everything about her is the best.” “She teaches us good.”

What do you think Mrs. Christen was like when she was in kindergarten? “A little scared, but a good kindergartner.” “Good. I bet she listened very well.” “She was a good kid.” “A little kid that is silly.” “An excited, wild child.” “ A good kindergartner.” “Crazy, messy kid.” “Good listener and a dreamer.”

Mrs. Christen made a wish for the new year  What do you think her wish was?

“She wants a new car.” “She wished for us to be good.” “She is wishing for a happy year.” “To have a good Christmas.” “For Forever.” “To help people.” “She wished for a notebook.” “To go to California”

If you could send Mrs. Christen on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you send her?  “A beach because she would like it.” “To Illinois so she can have fun.” “To the zoo to see all the animals.” “To the Cities because it would be warm.” “Mrs. Christen needs a break from us. Maybe to a beach.” “California. That is where DisneyLand is.” “Are we getting rid of her? I guess I would send her somewhere warm.” “Antarctica. She can’t hear us talking from there.”

What is one thing Mrs. Christen ALWAYS says? “Listen to me.” “Good morning.” “Be quiet.” “She says something every day.” “Line up.” “She always says the words we are learning.” “Be quiet.” “Stop!”