The College of Education
 

My Life, My Teaching: Rita Fisher Video Transcript

Hi! My name is Rita Fisher and I am currently teaching at Metcalf Lab School. I started quite a few years ago. In fact I think I've come full circle here at Metcalf and continuing with ISU. I began in the seventies working on a Master's at ISU. I was taking a curriculum class, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and we were told that we could write a curriculum that we were interested in. I wrote one about outdoor education. Shortly thereafter I was called to teach first through sixth grade science at Metcalf. By now it's 1978. I continued taking classes toward my Master's Degree. And my first year at Metcalf there was a new art teacher who was also interested in outdoor education. We put our heads together and got together and started a program at Metcalf. The administration liked the idea! We wrote a program, first through sixth grade, with the program fifth and sixth grade consisting of a residential program of three days away from school grounds, two nights in a cabin. It was successful and it's still a part of the curriculum today, in 2007. You'll see some of the early pictures of the outdoor education program. The students do pay a small fee, but Metcalf finances it because it is a part of the curriculum.

As I said, I teach science and I've had a lot of fun experiences in the science room. I had a collection of animals, naturally. One happened to be a garden snake; it liked to get out of its cage. The custodians would call me at home from time to time, "Come get the snake, Mrs. Fisher! It's crawling down the hallways." So no matter what I was doing I had to get in the car, come to school, and take a towel, throw it over the snake, collect it up, and put it back in its cage. The students would come into the classroom some days and say, "What's wrong with the snake's neck? It seems to have a bump in it."

Oh, it's just eating a goldfish. "Ah." "Why do we have to have a paper towel to pick up the toads? I don't mind touching them with my hands." "Uh-oh, there's a puddle on the floor—on me, too. Now I know why we need the paper towels."

We did many experiments in the classroom, and as you look at the pictures, you'll see some of the ones over the years. As much as I enjoy teaching all the science classes, at the time I felt that the program needed to be expanded to be more than a halftime position. So a sixth grade position became available and I moved into it, but still was in charge of the outdoor education program. After teaching all subjects in sixth grade, I was asked to teach just science and language arts. This combination lasted for about ten years. I also taught math and science for half a year. But I've come full circle. I started out teaching only science and I now am teaching only science, but just fifth and sixth grade students.

Over my years here at Metcalf I have many, many fond memories. I've been the assistant coach for Scholastic Bowl for ten years. The kids are great. I've learned so much from them. In the ten years we've been to State four times and won first place twice. The kids are great, and you'll see some of these pictures. Working, sharing, relaxing with the teachers at Metcalf has been an awesome feat. They've been my family away from home, and you can see the pictures—some the fun things and times we've had together. Outdoor ed. was a wonderful experience for the teachers and the students; it was a bonding time, especially the night walk. It was always an event where the students couldn't have flashlights turned on. We'd take the students in a row, set them by a tree in the dark, and we'd have to listen and feel for five minutes; then they could turn their lights on. They would write about their feelings—what they heard in the dark and what it was like when you couldn't see. The view in the pine forest, as the students turned their lights on, was like Christmas trees with little lights on, sparkling everywhere. We were in the pine forest and it just seemed to fit.

Well, I would be remiss, if I didn't mention all the ISU students I've had. My goal for them was to realize that sixth grade was a fun grade, an age, even though it may not have been their favorite. I've had many, many in the class that wanted younger students, but when they left my classroom would say, "This was fun and I would not hesitate to accept a job if it was sixth grade." For the last seven years, I've worked on a project that has ISU freshmen going into high needs schools. This has been a very rewarding experience. I read their observations and reflections and see how their perspectives have changed from what they thought high needs schools would be like as to what they really experience while they're there.

As I have said, I've come full circle. I started teaching only science, and I'm finishing my last year at Metcalf teaching only science. Teaching at Metcalf was not a job. It was a life experience. I'll look back on my years at Metcalf with many, many fond memories.