An injury turned out to lead to a career change for CHS9 AP human geography teacher Shanna Clapp, who was named the campus’s Teacher Spotlight for February. After earning a degree in secondary education social studies at Texas Christian University, Clapp joined CHS9 in the middle of the 2020-21 school year. This school year is her first full year teaching.

Why did you start teaching?

I originally did not want to be a teacher. I was going to join the military. I went into basic training and got injured, so I didn’t know what I wanted to do with life. I started taking classes at community college and my coworker came and asked me a question about history. I started explaining it to her and she, at the very end, looked at me and was like ‘You make a really great teacher.’ And I was like, I guess that’s pretty true. I decided then, to be a teacher.

What is your favorite part about being a teacher?

I like being able to build relationships with my students. I crack jokes and I get kind of crazy and a little goofy but I like being able to interact with my kids.

What do you think is the most important thing your students should learn from you?

I hope that they learn kindness and tolerance. One of the first things I say to my students when they come into class is that this is a kindness zone. I don’t stand for intolerance or people being mean to each other so I hope that they take that away from me.

What goals do you have as a teacher for the school year?

Mostly it’s making sure that I know what I’m doing because it’s my first year having a full class. It’s being able to make sure that I keep my classroom fun but educational.

What have you learned from being a teacher?

Nothing is one size fits all. Everybody learns differently. Everybody interacts differently and what works for one person is not going to work with the other one. So learning to be a lot more flexible is definitely a big thing.

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