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Jen Lee is a former chiropractor, so it should have come as no surprise when she pursued another career focused on helping people after taking time away to raise her children.
Now a fourth-grade teacher at Folger McKinsey Elementary School, Lee started as a substitute. The school’s principal at that time suggested that Lee get her teaching certificate, and she is now in her eighth year as a certified teacher and 17th year in education overall.
“As a substitute, I was very fortunate to be in a lot of the classrooms and got to see a lot of the inquisitive-based teaching,” she said. “By having purposefully led questions, we can guide students so they become active thinkers.”
That is her goal whether a lesson is focused on math, science or another subject.
“I want students to understand that life is full of problems and problems to be solved,” Lee said. “I want them to have a great curiosity of things around them.”
Lee’s desire to support students goes beyond the classroom, as noted by Folger McKinsey Elementary School Principal Jason Otte.
“Mrs. Lee is an amazing teacher that works incredibly hard both during the school day and after the school day ends for extracurricular activities,” Otte said. “She facilitates additional activities and events such as the science fair, SeaPerch, etc. The Folger community is fortunate to have such a dedicated professional serving students and families!”
As the staff member who oversees the school’s SeaPerch program, Lee is teaching nine kids how to design underwater remotely operated vehicles. Instead of starting the kids with the first and most challenging task, the circuit boards, which require soldering, she gives them another assignment first to build their skills and confidence.
“I pride myself on taking one thing that is challenging and breaking it into simpler steps,” she said. “… so, as kids build the frame, they think, ‘I can measure a pipe. I can build a pipe, and I can build it like it’s a LEGO.’ Then we go from there.”
Lee tells the kids that even engineers often fail before accomplishing their goals. “Mistakes are where learning grows,” Lee said.
Participating students also hone their science skills through the Terrapin Education and Research Partnership (TERP). Lee has a group of 10 students this year to collect weekly growth data and take care of the habitat their terrapin lives in.
“They’re empowered and impacted at the same time,” Lee said of her students learning about conservation.
A former student informed Lee that he wants to be an environmental scientist, reminding the teacher how impactful hands-on lessons can be for young learners. Even if they have not made the same decision yet, the current fourth-graders are loving the TERP program, and they voted to name their terrapin Taco.
“We are a democracy, after all,” Lee said with a chuckle.
Lee has also been busy with Folger McKinsey Elementary School’s science fair, which started in February with a dedicated group of volunteers helping the kids narrow down their projects.
“The kids who do it provide some pretty amazing projects,” Lee said. “I enjoy seeing the science fair foster connections between the students and the world around them.”
As an example, she cited three girls who play lacrosse and measured types of lacrosse sticks made for boys, girls and goalies.
“All of the sticks had a different pocket depth and the girls had a device to measure the speed (of a ball thrown with each stick),” Lee said.
The top three finalists in grades three, four and five will advance to the county-level competition in May.
Through the hands-on science fair, the TERP and SeaPerch programs, and classroom learning, Lee hopes the kids experience a world full of wonder.
“I’m a curious person by nature and I always want to learn,” Lee said. “I wanted to give these lightbulb moments to others, and I want them to see they have so much potential in them.”
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