Classroom Champions: Marine science teacher needs art supplies

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A teacher at James Island Charter School needs your help in making her marine science class a little more colorful.

It’s Jody Evans’ tenth year at James Island Charter School and over her tenure Evans says she’s learned a lot about every student that comes in her classroom. She says she enjoys teaching eleventh and twelfth graders since they focus heavily on the content she teaches.

“Eleventh and twelfth graders are about to go out into the world and start their career so they’re really thinking about what they want to do in life,” Evans says. “It’s kind of fun to hear their stories and figure out what their next steps are.”

Evans teaches marine science, and she says this year’s group of students brings lots of energy. Evans said in the past, she’ll take her students to Fort Johnson Department of Natural Resources for outside field lessons and she’s excited to do it again this year.

After attending a conference at the National Marine Educator Association, Evans discovered the activity block printing. In block printing, you’re essentially making a big rubber stamp, but you can create prints with them. Evans wants to create block prints with her students where she can focus on different species and focus on the anatomy of different fish.

“I think that’ll be really great for my creative students and also just the students who like to kind of, slow down, and really take their time thinking about something,” Evans says, “I think that’s the really good thing about art, instead of me just feeding them information it makes them slow down and make their own interpretations.”

In a class of 20-30 kids, there are always a handful that look to pursue marine science as a career. Even if they’re not thinking of marine science as a career, many of the kids enjoy fishing, surfing or going to the beach, so they have a strong interest in the ocean.

The supplies Evans needs are the rubber pads for the actual stamps, the paint itself and paint rollers to get them started.

“It’s fun to get to see they’re creative side,” Evans says, “You don’t really get to see that in a science class so it kind of pulls another side of a student that you might not have seen before.”

Next semester, Evans is setting her sights on a 3D printer project, but she knows that will take some time. She says the biggest takeaway she’s learned after ten years of teaching is to never judge a book by its cover.

“If you keep getting to know the students and building that connection with them you can get a better understanding with them and hopefully get them on board with whatever you’re teaching,” Evans says.

Click the link to support Evans and donate to her marine science class. If you know of a teacher in need of classroom supplies email: elisheva.wimberly@live5news.com.

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