Emily Kastens
“When lessons feel new, exciting, and alive, the students will be more engaged and more likely to develop an interest in something, even if it is not one of their greatest strengths.”
Q: Name | Location | Years in Education
Emily Kastens | Centennial, CO | First Year Educator!
Q: Tell us the story of your journey to becoming an educator. What are the significant waypoints along that path?
My path to becoming an educator officially started in 2019, but looking back, it began long before that. Growing up, I loved playing school with my best friend. My dad was a classroom teacher, and I always loved Take Your Kid to Work Day. I was originally set on becoming a secretary and majoring in Business Administration, but when the Lord placed the calling on my heart to become an educator at age 15, I knew that was what I had to do. I went to Liberty University Online to get my B.Ed. in Elementary Education and loved every second of it. I have never regretted this decision!
Q: Who inspired you (friend, family, coach, mentor, guide, sponsor, advisor) to become an educator, and/or get involved in education?
My path to becoming an educator officially started in 2019, but looking back, it began long before that. Growing up, I loved playing school with my best friend. My dad was a classroom teacher, and I always loved Take Your Kid to Work Day. I was originally set on becoming a secretary and majoring in Business Administration, but when the Lord placed the calling on my heart to become an educator at age 15, I knew that was what I had to do. I went to Liberty University Online to get my B.Ed. in Elementary Education and loved every second of it. I have never regretted this decision!
Q: When (and where) do you feel you are most likely to succeed as you practice your educational art, and your educational craft?
“I think one of the areas I will be most successful is lesson planning.”
I actually would love to become a full-time curriculum developer someday, as I love coming up with creative lessons and ways for students to authentically demonstrate their learning. I am also very organized, and I enjoy lesson planning because it is rather methodical.
Q: What are the skills you feel most confident using in your life, and work in education?
I would say the top two skills that I feel most confident using are organization and creativity. I think my organizational skills will definitely come in handy as I am getting my first classroom set up, figuring out the daily routine, and managing behaviors. As far as the creativity part of it goes, I have already been putting it into action before the school year has started! I made 18 origami place settings in the shape of potted plants for each of my students. I've also been pondering a piece of artwork to put on the wall, and my ukulele will be my frequent companion during class time, especially in math. Demonstrating my creativity shows my students that I genuinely love my job and that I am excited to share it with them!
Q: What are the most significant challenges you are working to overcome as you define what school could be?
At the school where I will be teaching, they are already redefining what education should be. Classes are in chunks of 30 to 45 minutes with several breaks in between. The students get the core subjects such as math, reading, and science, but they have many additional subjects such as nature study, music appreciation, and poetry. That way, there is at least one class period per day that resonates with each individual student's strengths and interests! I will also get to each lunch with the students, which is a unique way to build relationships. However, I think the most challenging part for me to overcome will just be asking hard questions. This is my first "official" teaching job, I am more on the reserved side, and I am younger than most teachers (I will be 21 in November), so I don't really want to create any tension in my first year. I just need to remember that my thoughts and opinions do matter. If I ask a question, one of my coworkers might have been thinking about the same question, so we can both get our answer!
“I also feel like people respect you more when you are genuine and are not afraid to ask hard questions, so I just need to keep that in mind.”
Q: Describe some of the most rewarding moments in your time in education; those crazy days when you knew you were having an impact...and it felt really good.
Ooh, this is a good question! One of my most rewarding moments involved my ukulele :) During student teaching, I was teaching a unit on money. My mentor teacher gave me a Money Song to sing with the kids. It mentioned each coin's name, amount, and appearance, and it really was a great way to teach that concept. However, I was not sure if they would like it. At the beginning of the semester, I created a survey to help me evaluate the students' "smarts" (based on 8 Great Smarts by Dr. Kathy Koch), and a very small number of students actually liked music. Even though I was hesitant at first, I love any excuse I can get to play my ukulele! So I gave it a try, and the students loved it. We sang it almost every day during math time, and they still asked me to sing it even after that unit was over. Pretty soon, they found other ways to get me to play my ukulele, from discovering a song in their reading textbook to singing "Happy Birthday" to a fellow classmate. After my time was over, I visited the classroom on the last day of school. All the students shouted, "Ms. Kastens, let's sing the Money Song!" It really made me happy that they remembered it and wanted to share it with me one last time before the summer. Yes, it was a silly little song, but it made an impact. And I now know those students will remember their coins forever! :)
Q: What do you most want to learn from this global online community of your fellow educator-leaders?
Everything!! I think this community is special because there are so many different perspectives on every educational issue I could imagine, so I just want to take in all I can as a new teacher. Classroom management tips, creative lesson ideas, success stories...I want to hear it all!
Q: What is something quirky that you love about yourself and would help other community members to get to know you?
Something quirky about myself is that I love plants! I have several indoor potted plants that I cannot wait to take to my classroom. Many of them have names, and I always put little trinkets or figurines inside each pot. One of my plants has an origami flower and another has a miniature rubber duck! Fun life hack: if you water your indoor plants twice a week with ice cubes, they last for so long! Not sure why, but it has worked great for me :)
Q: Ben Franklin supposedly said, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." You might think Ben was full of baloney, but we are wondering when YOU are most awake, alive, productive, creative, and/or reflective. Early morning, late at night, some other time?
I wish my brain was most spry in the afternoon but no. (Unfortunately) I have been forced to become a morning person because that is when my brain feels most alive and when I am the most productive. 4:30-5:00 a.m. was the optimal wake-up time during student teaching because the house was quiet and I could work on lesson plans with a fully active brain. However, when it comes to being creative, some of my best drawings and crocheted goods happen after 9:00 at night!
Q: Cold night, snow out, warm fire, hot beverage, or hot day, white sand beach, shorts and slippers, cold beverage?
Cold night, snow out, warm fire, hot beverage (cocoa, cider, tea...all of it)! I was born in November, and every year I used to wish for snow on my birthday...until I got my driver's permit and figured out it is very challenging to drive in the Colorado snow! :) So now I opt to stay inside on cold nights with a puzzle and an audio drama or music playlist.
Q: The coolest thing that happened to me today (the day I am filling out this form) was…
I was able to visit the school where I did student teaching and bring peanut butter cups to some of the teachers :) It was great to catch up with them and share my excitement for starting the school year!
Q: Putting on your futurist cap: What might your school/learning spaces (or “schools” in general) look and sound and feel like in 25 or 50 years?
“Hmm...I think traditional classroom settings will be completely eliminated. They will be replaced with lab-like settings, complete with 3D printers, holographic displays, and lots of colorful lights. Every surface can be drawn on so students can record ideas and think through problems at any time during the day. There will be several stations set up around every learning space so students can discover and invest in what they are actually interested in and passionate about. Getting dirty will be encouraged, and outdoor learning spaces will be created.”
Additionally, teachers will become more like room monitors. Education will be given into the hands of the students, and they will be in charge of their own learning. The teacher will just be there to initiate discussion, answer questions or ask counter-questions, and manage behavior. However, when the students are actually engaged in their learning, I believe classroom management issues decrease exponentially!
Q: And finally, what do you think is the purpose of education? (Clearly not a small question, but we hope you enjoy responding!)
This is definitely not a small question! I believe the purpose of education is to help each student find their purpose in life. We are training up the next generation of doctors, lawyers, accountants, chefs, dancers, artists, authors, programmers, pastors, and yes, teachers. As educators, we are supposed to unlock those interests and ideas in our students that show them the path to their future. That is why it is so important to use innovation in education. When lessons feel new, exciting, and alive, the students will be more engaged and more likely to develop an interest in something, even if it is not one of their greatest strengths. A student might choose their entire career pathway just because of one memorable class or one caring educator. I want to make sure my students have that excitement and engagement every day they come to school, and I want to make sure my students find a place and a purpose in my classroom.