BERTHOUD, Colo. — Class with Colorado's Teacher of the Year Jessica May seems like a lot of fun, with activities like making “cloud dough.” But there’s a real life lesson behind everything they do.
“If i can bring it back to real world relevancy, then there's no point,” May said.
May teaches Family and Consumer Science at Turner Middle School in Berthoud. The FACS curriculum includes cooking and sewing, just like the old home economics classes.
May said her middle school students are eager to learn about adult life.
“They are a special breed of humans, they are stuck between being a little kid in elementary and a young adult in high school,” May said.
May understands middle school is a challenging time. She brings adult conversations into the classroom, sharing her personal traumas and letting students know they can come to her.
“I need to see them as a person first and not just a student, and I need to be seen as a person and not just a teacher,” she said.
