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Can you tell us about yourself? 

Hi, my name is Shequillia Hall and I work at Ridge Park Charter Academy in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I am a sixth-grade teacher. I teach social studies and E L A. And I've been at this school for six years.

Why did you start a career in education?

I started a career in education because I felt it was very rewarding. And I've always loved working with children. So after working in the school system, I figured if I'm gonna be here, I might as well, um, get my own classroom.

If I could have any other job, what would it be and why?

If I could have any other job, what would it be? The only other job that I'd probably do is if I owned my own clothing store. And that's only because I like fashion and, um, it would allow me to work the hours that I wanna work and not a set schedule.

How are kids different than they were 30 years ago?

How are kids different now than 30 years ago? When I think about myself I think I was a lot more innocent than the children are now. I also think that children were more grounded and it was just, I think it was a lot more family involvement now than 30 years ago. 

How is teaching different than it was 30 years ago?

Question five teaching, how is teaching different now than 30 years ago? Well when I think back to when I was in sixth grade my sixth grade was one classroom and it was a lot of worksheets. I think now there is way more technology. Things are more hands-on. My sixth graders changed classes. So those are some of the big things to me that are different.

What would you tell someone who wants to become a teacher?

If I could tell someone that was thinking about becoming a teacher. Now I would tell them to start trying a couple of different grades until you find your niche. Because that took me a minute. I was in second-grade kindergarten. Until I found sixth grade and realized I really like working with the older kids. I will also tell them to make sure you're in it for the right reasons, because let's be honest. If you're doing this for money, this is not the right job. If you're doing this to impact a child, then, then you're in the right place. 

What would you change to help kids learn better?

One thing that I would change to help kids learn better. For me personally, I think I probably would take away Fridays and do school Monday through Thursday. At my school in particular we have what we call a balanced count under and to me all schools should have that where we're never in school for more than six to seven weeks at a time and we have a week off. Um, yes, our summers are a little shorter, however it helps. No with the no summer learning loss. Um, the other thing that I would change is I would push more reading, um, because I think that is really the foundation for children. Thank you and have a great day.