(Editor’s note: The Augusta Press will feature each of the five finalists for Columbia County’s Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced at an Oct. 5 banquet.)
Laura Griffin’s classroom smelled like burnt sugar as she demonstrated chemistry properties in everyday life.
“We were talking about physical and chemical changes, so we talked about it one day, and the next day I gave them 10 changes for them to do. Then they’d have to decide if it was a physical change or a chemical change based on what they’re observing, what they’re smelling, what they’re feeling,” she said. “I like to reduce the amount of time I’m just standing in front of the class talking as much as possible.”
Other experiments Griffin has conducted include making ice cream and using Bunsen burners to test what colors different chemicals turn when exposed to heat.
“I just feel like they learn better when they’re experiencing the content,” said Griffin, who is one of Columbia County’s five finalists for teacher of the year. “With teaching, especially with science, the kids need to be doing the science because that’s what science is in the real world; it’s not just sitting at a book and studying – it’s getting in a lab and making observations, it’s getting out into the field. I strongly feel that the kids need to be actively doing as much as possible.”
The Harlem High School teacher has three bachelor’s degrees — one in chemistry, one in science education and one in Spanish.
She was first drawn to chemistry in high school, and it quickly became her favorite subject.
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“I just found the content to be so interesting; I mean it really explains how the world works and I just found that it was just so interesting to learn about,” she said. “Then when I got to college, I took entry level, first year chemistry and just fell in love and got a degree in chemistry.”
Griffin soon realized that, despite her love of chemistry, she did not want to work in a lab as she found the environment too isolated and was interested in working with people.
“I always loved explaining to my peers in college chemistry how things worked, and I then decided to go into teaching. I think I’ve always loved teaching, and for so long I told myself, ‘Well, no, I’m not going to be a teacher,’” she said. “My mom was a teacher, and I think I was just resistant to go into teaching, but from a young age I would play school with my friends. Then in high school, I would always invite my friends over to study together, which was really just me reteaching them everything.”
Griffin said college ultimately made her realize her love for conveying knowledge so others could understand.
Griffin’s love of spreading knowledge also transferred into her other studies. In Athens, Griffin was heavily involved in the Latino Center as a volunteer tutor and, as a result, met people from all over the world.
“I love connecting with people from different parts of the world and just kind of seeing the similarities that do exist,” she said.
After graduating from Lakeside High School and later the University of Georgia, Griffin found herself in Madrid, Spain for a year where she taught students English and about the U.S. culture.
“I love the language. I loved the challenge of learning the language. In college I would say it’s not the science classes I struggled in – it was the language classes, and I think I just kind of saw that it is hard to express yourself in a language that’s not your native language,” she said.
Griffin said struggling to learn how to express herself in Spanish made her very compassionate and understanding towards those learning another language.
After her teaching adventure in Spain was over, Griffin became interested in teaching chemistry once again and ended up accepting a job offer in Augusta, which fueled her desire of wanting to make a difference in her community.
“It’s where I grew up; it’s where I had family,” she said. “I actually reached out to my old high school chemistry teacher, his wife works [at Harlem High], and it just worked out perfectly that it was coming back to where I was from.”
When she began teaching, Griffin said her goal was to actively engage her students as much as possible.
Griffin also said Harlem High administrators and herself focus more on engagement in school than compliance. Griffin believes pressuring students will not necessarily make them interested in learning.
“I want my kids doing because they are interested in what they’re doing and they’re curious about what’s happening, more than just they’re scared of whatever repercussions they would get for not doing,” she said. “Often with just a little prompting they find it interesting, and they want to be involved.”
Griffin said her high school teachers, David Arrington and Charlotte Smith, impacted her learning experience and inspired her to be a great teacher because they are both very passionate about they’re teaching.
Griffin also acknowledges herself as a lifelong learner and believes being open minded to growth is the key to improving.
“I think realizing that we’re all lifelong learners and that we should just always be pushing ourselves to improve. I think learning is very much about growth; not every student is going to come out of my classroom knowing the same thing, but as long as we have learned something from day one up until you leave my room – that is my goal,” she said. “That we’re just always pushing ourselves and always improving.”
Griffin admitted most students will not probably use chemistry after high school unless they go into a science field, but she believes it teaches other life skills such as critical thinking and curiosity.
Griffin said she believes teachers and students work to inspire each other through hard work and compassion.
“I think when they see me working really hard, they’re going to work with me. They see that I’m caring about their education, and I’ve had kids tell me before that ‘I think you care more about my education than I do,’” she said. “I’m like, ‘yes, yes I do, because I want you to be successful and I want you to want that for yourself.’”
Griffin hopes to always inspire her students to constantly work towards becoming better versions of themselves.
“We’re always capable of being better than we are currently; no matter what field it’s in, whether it’s science or just personally, we are always capable of improving ourselves and that should be a goal,” she said. “Whether that’s academic improvement or just personal growth, I just want them to know they have so many opportunities open to them, and that I am here to support them in whatever they choose to do in the future. I’m going to push them to where they have every opportunity available.”
Griffin said her favorite part of teaching is building relationships with her students and seeing them focus and become interested in an activity in her class.
“I want to always be a very approachable teacher; so just building those relationships and seeing students’ excitement to learn – those are the two biggest things, for me, that bring joy into teaching,” she said.
In December, Griffin will receive her Master of Education in Science Education and Gifted Endorsement. She believes, in five to ten years, she will continue to teach in the classroom with hopefully a specialist’s degree and a doctorate.
The winner of the Teacher of the Year Award will be announced on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at the White Oak Road Farm.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com.
