March Teacher Feature: Jolee Hjort, Social Studies Teacher

March Teacher Feature:

Jolee Hjort, 

Social Studies Teacher

 

“The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.”—John Lubbock

 

Jolee Hjort, 7-12 social studies teacher, is in her seventeenth year teaching at Clearbrook-Gonvick Public School.

She and her husband, Tom, have two children Kasey and Ben. Kasey is a junior at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and Ben is a freshman at Northwest Technical College in Bemidji.

 

Jolee grew up in the Clearbrook area and graduated from Clearbrook High School.  She attended St. Cloud State University majoring in secondary education, history and sociology. After college, she subbed in a variety of districts in central Minnesota. She married Tom and moved to Elk River and then Milaca, MN, (Tom’s hometown) where they lived until 1999. They moved back to Clearbrook when Tom got a job in the area.  

 

Why did you choose to be a teacher? I come from a long line of teachers. I am a fourth generation teacher in my family and both of my parents taught in the Clearbrook and Clearbrook-Gonvick districts. I have always liked school and it seemed like a natural fit for me.  

 

What did you do before coming to Clearbrook-Gonvick? I worked in the Elk River School District for six years, first as a substitute teacher, then as a SPED paraprofessional and finally as a teacher. In Elk River, I taught ninth grade American government.  After moving back to the Clearbrook-Gonvick area, I subbed for a year before being hired as a full time teacher in the fall of 2000. 

 

What is the best part of your job at Clearbrook-Gonvick? The students and staff are the best part of my job at Clearbrook-Gonvick. We have great kids in our district. They are fun to teach and I look forward to seeing them every day. Our staff is hardworking and dedicated to the education of our students. I could not do my job without the support of my colleagues.

 

What is the biggest challenge of your job? TIME….or lack thereof, is the biggest challenge of my job. There are not enough minutes in the day to teach everything I would like to teach my students. There also are not enough minutes in the day to do all of the other things that are required of teachers these days.  A teacher’s job is never done at the end of the school day. This can be overwhelming at times.

 

If you could have any job in the world - what would it be? Why? I would love to be a tour guide at a National Historic Park like Gettysburg or maybe a reenactor at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. I love history!! I think the stories these places have to tell are fascinating and I would love to share my enthusiasm with others. :) My second choice is a meteorologist. I’m obsessed with the weather….must be the Minnesotan in me!

 

What do you do when you are not at working at the school? I am an avid sports fan. I watch a lot of Minnesota sports, despite how depressing it can be! I also like to spend time with my family, read, and enjoy the lake.  

 

What are your favorite aspects of the Clearbrook-Gonvick community? There are great things about growing up, working, and raising your family in a small community. It’s nice to know that we have a large, supportive community family helping to raise our kids. The Clearbrook-Gonvick community is also home to me, which is comforting.  

 

And now a few words from the students about Jolee Hjort  from the students....

 

What do you think is Mrs. Hjort does when she is not at school? “Plays with her dogs.” “Watches tv and reads history books.” “She follows/ catches up on anything in the news, carefully corrects school work, and finds time to talk with her family as much as she can.” “Watches the Vikings, SNL, and goes out on the lake.” “She probably watches politics and goes skydiving.” “I think Mrs. Hjort likes to read books and watch movies and talk to her daughter.” “Sleep.”

 

Mrs. Hjort enjoys reading books for fun.  What is book or book series you think she enjoys to read? Why? “I think she enjoys political books especially ones that contain a little drama to keep it exciting.” “‘Zoo’ by James Patterson because she has very strict opinions regarding government and laws relating to regulation and experimentation.” “Harry Potter.” “All of the history books.” “She probably reads books about history and politics.” “Hunger Games.” “I thinks she would like to read the Harry Potter series, How to Kill a Mockingbird, Time Magazine, something with history in it.”

 

What is the best thing about Mrs. Hjort? “She’s straight forward, she tells us when she we are too quiet and when we are rude.” “Her calming voice and patience with our opinionated comments during U.S. Citizenship. Also, her ability to argue both sides.” “She really listens to students when they talk to her and she is very good at keeping an open mind for other people’s opinions.” “Her stylish outfits and her eyes and her hair.” “She is very open minded during class discussions and isn’t pushy for what she believes in, and she is very stylish.” “She is very tolerant and patient with rowdy students.” “The best thing about Mrs. Hjort is how she wants to do well and how she doesn’t punish all of us for just one person's bad decisions.”

 

What do you think Mrs. Hjort was like when she was in high school? “A smart, quiet person.” “Polite to everyone and calm.” “Intelligent, talkative, and very curious about subjects involving politics.” “She was crazy when she was younger.” “She was probably a good student at school, but was a vigilante on the weekends to fight justice.” “I think she was a hardworking, but fun, when she was in high school.”

 

If Mrs. Hjort could go back in time to any period in history, what time period do you think she would pick? Why? “Early to mid-1900s to experience the dramatic changes in American Society.” “Salem witch trials or Jamestown.” “The Renaissances because she seems to love talking about it.” “Early 1900s so she could fight for women’s rights.” “She would probably go back in time to the Civil War so she could be in all the movies about it in class.” “I think she would go back into the 1700s or 1800s, so she could see a lot of historical events happen and meet the important people in history.” “Civil War time so she could be in the moment and live it instead of just reading about it.”

If you could send Mrs. Hjort on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you send her?  Why would you send her there? “Ireland so she can see the world with her daughter.” “Germany because I would like to think she enjoys the outside world.” “Where the Aztec Temples are because it looks like fun.” “I would send her to the Oval Office so she could give the government professionals some advice.” “Alaska because she seems like she can handle the cold.” “I would send her to Europe because she talks about it and when she talks about it you can tell she would like to go there, she also says she wants to go to Europe.”

 

What is one thing Mrs. Hjort ALWAYS says? “She doesn’t really say something memorable, but she does say, ‘It plays an important role in history.’” “I’m not going to tell you if I’m liberal or conservative.” “Who knows?” “Study for test.” “Let’s talk about this.” “You guys had plenty of time to get the homework done.” “You’re going to wish you studied.”