Greenwood Laboratory School Fourth Grade Teacher Shae Johnson

In this segment of KSMU Sense of Community Series, Michele Skalicky profiles Greenwood Laboratory School Fourth Grade Teacher Shae Johnson.
When you walk into Shae Johnson’s 4th grade classroom at Greenwood Laboratory School, the first thing that catches your attention is the frogs. They’re everywhere—in an assortment of shapes and sizes.

Johnson has had plenty of years to collect her frogs…she’s been teaching for 35 years. 25 of those have been at Greenwood. Unlike many people who don’t go on to do what they thought they wanted to be when they “grew up,” Johnson is today what she knew she wanted to be when she was in 4th grade.

Johnson hasn’t let 35 years—many of them in the same classroom—diminish her love of teaching at all. She says she tries to instill in her students a love of learning so they become lifelong learners. She does that, in part, thru her enthusiasm about teaching.

According to Johnson, 95% of teaching is building confidence. She does that by being fair but strict, teaching study and organizational skills as well as how to meet deadlines. But teaching isn’t one-sided for Shae Johnson. She explains what her students have taught her.

Johnson also teaches students at Missouri State University who plan to become teachers when they graduate. She hopes they and her fourth grade students carry with them as they move on, things she has taught them.

One thing Johnson tries to instill in her students is a love for community service. She believes strongly in teaching kids how to be good citizens, and helping others, she says, is part of that. Her class raises money each year for Light the Night, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has a personal reason for choosing that cause.

Getting involved in Light the Night gave Johnson an avenue for getting her students involved in community service. Greenwood, like MO State which it’s affiliated with, has a public affairs mission, and at the secondary level, service learning is taught.
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A couple of girls ran a lemonade stand over the summer and raised $218.

Johnson tries each year to schedule a visit to her classroom from a child who has leukemia so the children can put a face to the disease.

Johnson doesn’t plan to retire for another four or five years. And when she does she’ll be missed. Two weeks into the school year, 4th grader Regan DeLeon, who was one of those who nominated Johnson to be featured on KSMU this week, was excited to have her for a teacher.
Seth, too, was happy to be in Mrs. Johnson’s classroom.

Johnson says the best part about teaching is being able to make a difference in children’s lives.
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This program is available on the web at ksmu.org. For KSMU and the Sense of Community Series, I’m Michele Skalicky.