By Amy Lynn: Staff Writer
Sharon Whiting is a science teacher at Yucaipa High School. She recently told her students she is retiring this year. In an interview with her on March 16th, she gave insights into her excitement for retirement. First, she said that she is excited about retirement and feels she was the best teacher she could be. Ms.Whiting stated that “My biggest goal becoming a teacher was one, to have a very organized and interactive classroom, and two, make sure that every student has a good experience in the classroom.”
Any advice she would want to give to a student is that “Be present in class.” Whiting on to state how being interactive in a classroom is so important and that it is everyone’s job to be present in class, and to get everything that you can out of every class. When asked about something that a student told her that really stuck with her she said “There are multiple, but the biggest one is when a student you didn’t think really loved or cared for the class wrote me a letter at the end of the year and talked about how much they enjoyed the class and thanking me.” Whiting said she tries to treat every student the same and that you never know what they are going through.
Whiting used to work in research and in a lab and she said it was in a small dark room working with molecules. Whiting mentioned how it was sometimes lonely, but she remembered how much she loved her science and biology class which was what sparked her interest in becoming a teacher.
Covid-19 has affected teachers and students equally and when asked about her experience, Whiting expressed that covid has seemingly helped students grow and develop better skills in technology, and with her, she said she felt like her tech skills improved. However, she also mentioned that she feels like covid-19 has affected her teaching in a negative way and that teaching a lab or lesson over a screen is difficult. Whiting also said that she wishes she could be back to normal in the classroom.
With her retirement nearing, it is a good opportunity to look back on her many years of teaching at YHS and thank her for being the best she could be.
