SAN ANTONIO —
It’s back-to-school season for many kids in Texas. But for some teachers, preparations begin weeks in advance.
“When it’s flagged, they know, like, no cell phones,” said Whitney Weddel, holding a set of colored flags you’d expect to see outside a doctor’s office.
“They may be on the desk,” she said, pointing at the yellow flag. “Or, green is, ‘Go for it.’”
A health science teacher at East Central High School, Weddel puts a lot of thought in how she arranges her classroom.
"The students, when they're in our lab, they're in their stations and they're learning. They're seeing what it would look like when they're going to go take their actual certification,” she said. “But here in our classroom, it's a little more cozy. A little more comfortable."
Weddel says she didn't plan on teaching at all, much less heading up the school's nursing program.
"I thought I was going to just apply to become a school nurse. And then they (said), ‘We have a health science position. Have you ever thought about teaching?’” Weddel said. “And it kind of just, like, happened?"
She says she fell into the job after becoming disillusioned with hospital administration.
"I love what I do," she said. "Like, I can't picture doing anything but teaching."
That love of teaching is one of the reasons she says she gets excited for this time of year—every year.
"Your students, they get you for one year. You'll continue to perfect your craft over many years, and you'll get better at all the things,” she said. “But they get you for one year. So I'm always super excited about the one year."
The atmosphere she is trying to create in her classroom is fun and comfortable, but Weddel says, ultimately, it's about creating the best conditions for learning.
"If they're comfortable, then their heart is open, their mind is open," she said.
"And they're going to gain something every day."