Emily Crabtree likes to learn.
And she loves the classroom.
But it wasnt always easy.
An undiagnosed reading disorder often meant struggling in the classroom.
I was a B-C student, she admitted. It was a struggle. I didnt know why I couldnt read fast enough.
And if students think theyre not smart enough, their enthusiasm for school quickly dampens.
It makes you feel like a failure, Crabtree said.
She sees herself as fortunate.
Encouragement from a couple of teachers at just the right time, and an emphasis on visual learning, convinced Crabtree she could work through her classroom struggles.
She did so, and even pursued a teaching career in the process.
Crabtree originally taught art for a year, before deciding her passion lay elsewhere.
So she took a year off, earned certification to teach science, and is now a seventh-grade life science instructor at Iola Middle School.
Crabtree, 28, spoke of her whirlwind career this week with a Register reporter.
It seems like things never really go as planned, she said with a laugh.
CRABTREE, daughter of former Iolan Gary Crabtree, was born and raised in St. Louis before her parents returned to southeast Kansas, to Welda.
By then, Crabtree was well on her way to a teaching career.
And by then, I had put myself into a little art box when I got to college, she said. Art was what I was good at.
She taught art to kindergarten through 12th grades in Osage City.
But what I found was that while I loved art, I didnt love teaching art, she said. And I really didnt enjoy the pace of K-12.
Crabtree found herself connecting more with middle-schoolers.
High-schoolers didnt really seem to take anything I said to heart, she recalled. Elementary kids were just glad to see me, anyway.
I dont know middle school speaks to me, she said with a hearty laugh. Maybe Im just a special kind of crazy.
MANY TEACHERS can easily point out their favorite parts of their jobs when youngsters find their AHA moment and grasp a concept previously foreign to them.
Crabtree, conversely, appreciates moments earlier in the learning process.
What I like most is watching a kid struggle, then feel comfortable enough to ask for help, she said. I dont think a lot of kids know how to ask for help any more. Theyre so afraid to fail that they dont try. I like being able to help them get past that.
Crabtree speaks from her own experience.
Her reading struggles often led to moments of self-doubt.
If you fail a couple of times, or just dont get it as fast as someone else, you tend to write yourself off, she noted.
Art became her salvation.
Crabtrees eye for detail and craftsmanship often set her apart from her classmates, even though she readily admits her creativity is nothing special.
It was from her art background, however, that Crabtree found herself thriving in classes that relied more on hands-on learning than in those that relied on reading and memorization.
Those multiplication tables never did stick she laughed.
It wasnt until a few years ago Crabtree discovered why.
A friend noticed she had little trouble reading articles in newspapers, magazines and some textbooks, but rarely, if ever, read from novels.
I have this tracking issue with my eyes, she said. I cant read text if it runs across a full page. If its in columns, I have no trouble with it.
Looking back, its probably always been that way, she said. It just nice to know that its this thing instead of me thinking I cant read novels.
With that comes a deeper appreciation of project-based learning, especially with science.
Science is something Ive always wanted to learn more about, she said. As I got better as a student, I enjoyed science more. Its solving things. Its not just remembering an equation.
CRABTREE admits her students likely will be disappointed.
They wont get to do any exploding experiments, she laughed. But this should still be a fun section.
Her coursework will cover such things as cells, animal and plant life, and eventually, the human body.
Her classroom projects, she promised, will be geared to emphasize learning, and occasionally thinking outside the box.
Theres a lot of leeway, she explained. Say we need to make a model of a cell. Not everybody wants to make a styrofoam model. Maybe somebody else is better doing something digitally.
Im very excited about this, Crabtree continued. I dont want to be the teacher who does the same thing every year. I want to open it up so kids can have options. If you give kids a choice, they get more involved. Theyll learn more if they like what theyre doing. Science is a course where they can have some creativity.
CRABTREE has been welcomed with open arms by her colleagues at IMS when she gets to see them.
Im in a corner classroom on the second floor, and Im right next to a bathroom, she laughed. I havent been able to get out much. But the other teachers have been so welcoming. Theyll occasionally come in to check on me, just to make sure I know theyre there. Theyve been overwhelmingly welcoming and positive. Its been beautiful.
