Sarah Hall

RET Teacher of the Week!

Week Two:

As she spun large beakers of diatoms, Sarah Hall explained that it was important to mix them up every other day, as they tend to stick together at the bottom of the beaker. “The goal is to increase the efficiency of solar cells.” Sarah explained.

Sarah teaches ninth grade Biology, and eleventh and twelfth grade Earth Science at Lynn English High School in Lynn, MA.

“I like working at Lynn English! Most of the kids are lower economically disadvantaged, … are underrepresented minorities, [and] … ELL (English Language Learners) Students, but science is neat….and if I could bring any of the stuff I’m learning here back to the kids that would be awesome.”

She explains that her job sometimes presents challenges because of the cultural differences between her and her students. She says interacting with the parents of her students can be difficult, as many are newly immigrated to the country and speak little to no English.

“Science classes (in high school) can be a challenge, of course, especially when English is not your first language….but I don’t think it should always be about lectures and exams, it should be fun!”

Sarah will begin her twentieth year of teaching in September. An experienced teacher, when asked why she decided to participate in a program like RET, she said “I thought it would be fun!” A great and humble answer; it is clear that Sarah feels it is important to better her own knowledge so that she can share it with her students.

“Some of the tools I am getting to use, and watch being used, are amazing.”

Sarah says, though, she is not new to science.

“I’ve done a lot of science work for Fish and Wildlife where I managed lamprey populations, before I became a teacher.  But it was all macro-scale and I know nothing about nano-scale. I thought it would be great to get this stuff back to the students. It is interesting and they might be interested in it.”

Before becoming a teacher, Sarah was a “military brat,” as she called herself with a smile. She grew up all over the place, she says, “We moved around every four years.” Sarah graduated from High School right outside of the D.C area, and then went to Norwich University in Vermont and received her Bachelors in Biology, her Masters in Industrial Technology from Bridgewater State, and later received her Masters in Education from Lyndon State College in Vermont.

She now lives in the North Shore of Massachusetts.

“I am very spoiled, getting to live there. I get to take my kids kayaking during the summer because we live so close to the water.” Sarah is a mother of thirteen-year-old twin girls. “They are quite a handful,” she laughs.

She thinks for a minute about her students, and the work she does with them. “I think everyone should have someone in their life that makes science important…for me, it was my dad. He made science important to me. I think teachers are really important for that reason. If I can get to one or two of my students, I would be very happy.”