Jacci Leib has been a teacher for over 30 years and has taught both science and French in Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, and Texas. She was also an online teacher and taught students from all over the country. She is now a Physical Science and Chemistry teacher at GEHS.
Leib explained that her inspiration to become a teacher was due to a “rainy day in KU.” Leib decided to change her major from Pre-Med to Chemistry with a minor in French because a counselor told her to.
“I have never looked back, but until that day it was not on my radar,” she said.
When she found out she got the job, Leib was so happy.
“I was so excited. I didn’t think I would just love being back face to face with kids, because you hear things online or from people leaving the profession,” Leib said. “But I don’t see those problems in Gardner. It’s just fun.”
Leib has one main goal for this school year, she wants to share her love of science with her students.
“My goal, I think, is to successfully bring some enjoyment, maybe even love of science [to my students],” she said. “If anything I hope students learn that just because they don’t understand it, it only means they don’t understand it yet.”
Since Leib has been teaching online, she hasn’t been able to perform labs. This year, however, she can and she is looking forward to it.
“[I’m excited] to do some of the labs that I missed doing when I was working online,” she said.
Leib describes her class as engaging, and she often checks with students to confirm they understand the material.
“I try to make it interactive and engaging,” Leib said. “I like to keep things moving, and with frequent check-ins or affirmative assessments to figure out if I need to speed up or slow down.”
