If you’re ever walking down the hall, and you notice a class the size of a sporting event within a classroom, it’s probably good ol’ Ms. Dimmitt’s students, all present and accounted for, ready to learn. In fact, Ms. Dimmitt’s students say that they enjoy her passion for the world of history, but more importantly, her concern for them as growing individuals. For them, Ms. Dimmitt’s class is engaging, and they understand she truly cares that they succeed, not only as students but as human beings in the world around them.
Jessica Dimmitt, a Social Studies teacher for seven years total, has spent the past three years here at Beach High School. Having earned a B.A. in History from Armstrong along with her teaching certification, she humorously thinks of herself as “a huge nerd” as she enjoys reading and all things history. She is also known to crochet baby items, blankets, and so much more, energized with her favorite drink: a Starbucks coffee. But one thing is for sure, her blood runs blue and gold. Believing in Ohana, which means family in Hawaiian culture, Jessica spent part of her childhood in Hawaii. From a large family, Jessica is the only girl of three brothers and has nine nieces and nephews. It’s no wonder that Ms. Dimmitt brings that family-like atmosphere to her own classroom and inspires students with her joy and love, served with a little side of clever humor. Not only does she impart a love for the land of history, but she helps build community in her classroom, uniting them as Bulldog-Ohana, showing them they are all bound together and must respect one another. Jessica claims her strength as content knowledge, but she struggles to as go as deep as she would like on certain topics within the content. She enjoys talking to the students about different times in history, relating them to our own. But content knowledge is certainly not her main focus; in fact, it’s connecting with the students. She comments: “I talk to them. I ask them about their lives. I get excited about the things they get excited about. I use a lot of sarcasm (maybe too much sometimes). I tell them I miss them when they're absent. I talk to them when I see them in the halls. I don't want them to think the only time I talk to them or acknowledge them is when they're in the classroom.” Clearly, Ms. Dimmitt realizes that in order to build relationships with students, she must show them that her care for them extends outside the four walls of her own classroom. She invests in their interests and their cares and ensures that she acknowledges even their presence. And as a result, she can’t nail down just one of her favorite teaching moments. She comments that there are so very many that take place in her classroom. In particular, she enjoys deep discussion in her classroom, prompted by student inquiry. She loves it, “when I have the opportunity to engage that higher level thinking and when students are able to take the things we discussed and apply them to other things going on both in the past and current issues.” Ms. Dimmitt not only knows the content, but she wants the content to be meaningful to students outside of school. Given that we probably remember so little of the things that don’t apply to our lives, it is so very important to find that connection to students and what they appreciate. In her world, in order to be a good teacher, engagement is central. Students must be engaged in what they are doing by being motivated to care about the subject matter. In terms of classroom management, she comments that a teacher must pick the few hills he or she is willing to die on, standing firm on them. But the same teacher must also “understand that not everything is worth dying for.” And when it comes to her best strategy? Ms. Dimmitt argues that using student data to determine what students have mastered and what areas they need remediation is the key to helping them grow. In honor of Ms. Dimmitt the Great (Teacher, of course), let’s commit to doing one thing in our classroom that communicates Bulldog-Ohana. Whether it’s writing them a note of encouragement, speaking a word to them outside of classroom-ease, or just generally making eye-contact with a smile, we can impart to them that our class is a tight community. In fact, list below any strategies you use while teaching a lesson or working with a student that communicates the Bulldog family to them. Thank you Ms. Dimmitt for all you do for our Bulldogs! -LDE
2 Comments
Lisa Collins
4/19/2017 04:18:06 pm
I love what you are doing to promote the positive culture! Kudos to you and this teacher!
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Evans
4/19/2017 05:11:07 pm
We have AMAZING teachers. They deserve it ;). Ty.
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