Meet Ms. Jisu

How did you decide to go into teaching?

I’m the oldest of three, so I feel like I’ve always been given that responsibility as the oldest child. So it would be like, “Okay, make sure that your sisters are on track and that they’re doing the work they’re supposed to be.” When it came to actually deciding to be a teacher, I felt like I was practicing my entire life. I actually started my degree in biology, and then I transferred …  to Temple University, where there was an opportunity to not just get my Bachelor’s in science but also explore the option of getting a teaching certificate, as well as a Bachelor’s in Secondary Education. So that’s where I started, and I actually fell in love with it. 

What drew you to TECH Freire?

I really loved the idea of integrating technology into our classrooms. Our vision for this year is that we are preparing students for the 21st century, that they’re college ready, and it’s simply impossible to do so without technology.

What’s your approach to teaching biology?

When it comes to bio, it’s so vocab heavy and content heavy, but there aren’t a lot of labs that you can do at a high school level. So I try my very best to be as creative as I can be so that students can get somewhat of a hands-on experience at every unit that I cover, so that it’s not just papers, words that they have to memorize …  My approach is to make sure that they’re having fun.

What’s your favorite biology unit to teach?

I absolutely love genetics, just because it’s so relatable to the real world. That’s the unit that we’re currently on right now, and recently we talked about blood types, and then someone’s like, “Wait a minute. Is this my mom, is this my dad? I feel like that’s impossible for them to have someone like me with my blood type.” They get super interested.

How would you describe the staff culture at TECH Freire?

Oh my gosh, super positive. I feel like they are almost as if they are my family… Super understanding, definitely the same team working toward the same goal. Everyone’s working for the kids, and I love that. We are helping each other grow, not just professionally but also as people. We look at everyone as assets to our school rather than criticizing each other.

Why teach at TECH Freire?

TECH Freire is where you can grow professionally but also just as a human being, not just because you have that staff-to-staff interaction, but because you also learn from kids. Students are super caring, once they get to know you, they’re definitely there on your side, they’re definitely there to protect you, be on your team, whatever it is. The sense of community that we have at TECH makes it a great place to work. It makes it feel like everything I’m doing is for something and it’s worth it.

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