Teacher Spotlight: Media-Providence Friends School's Chris Howells

Media Patch is offering a new feature called Teacher Spotlight where we will feature a local teacher who deserves recognization. Teachers give a lot to their students, schools and studies and we'd like to recognize them and say a simple, thank you, for all that they do.

This Media-Providence Friends School science teacher left the corporate world to follow a career path she knew she could get excited about. Now she brings that excitment into her classroom.

Teacher: Chris Howells

School:

Grade/Subject:  Science for the lower school

Years in the Industry: 10 years as a full time teacher, four years at Media-Providence Friends

Teaching History:

Before becoming a teacher Howells worked at various environmental organizations as a research scientist but she would also give hands-on demonstrations to schools and classes of all ages who were on field trips or studies. This was helpful in creating a wide range of teaching skills, Howells says. She volunteered her time for about 25 years in teaching environmental sciences and agriculture before becoming a full time teacher.

What do you like most about your job:

Howells says watching the students become excited about a project is wonderful and it challenges her to keep that excitment going. She likes the students to become more confident in science and if they start young, they will be confident in the field, she says.

Why did you become a teacher:

Howells says as a research scientist she always loved the lab but was really drawn to working with young folks and the corporate climate was just not exciting for her anymore.

"I loved the research but not the corporate world. In college I had wanted to be a teacher so I thought I should get back into it," she says. "After 9/11, I decided I would not spend another day not doing something that I don't love and I've been fortunate enough to be able to do it."

What do you like best about your current school:

Howells says she loves that the Media-Providence Friends students are not anonymous.

"They are known and understood and everyone can participate," she says. "You can see a difference in the students. If you create an experience they all gain excitment from it. The experience is the most important. Once there is that excitment the learning comes easy."

Check out a video here on the Media-Providence Friends website where Howells and her students are on a recent field trip.