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Lauren Z.
Editor: Sydney B
Leaning over a counter in a second-floor science classroom, biology teacher Mrs. Warren cheerfully explained the upcoming procedure to her student. With her contagious enthusiasm and clear instructions, she was guiding a student through their IA, or internal assessment - an individual project that IB students complete in each of their courses. As a GCVI teacher of ten years, this is far from the first time Mrs. Warren has done this, but her passion for it is glowing as strongly as ever.
“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she declares. “I think I have the greatest job in the world.”
Although, in her high school years, she could never have imagined herself as a biology teacher. She did her degree in engineering - but towards the end, she admitted, she knew engineering wasn’t the path for her. Instead, after travelling for a year, she found herself going to a teacher’s college. “For all these people who think… they have to decide what to do at the end of high school,” Mrs. Warren says, “I’m a good example [to show] you have time.”
Now, she’s discovered that she especially enjoys neuroscience, genetics, and evolution - not just to teach, but to learn, as she constantly strives to improve her teaching. According to her, “[she] love[s] being a teacher so much” that “one of [her] hobbies is working on becoming a better teacher.”
This passion shines through each of her lessons, which are always “fun and easy” to understand, according to grade 12 student Sydney B. “She… includes fun anecdotes about her own experiences and is eager to answer any questions students have. She creates such a welcoming and fun environment in her class, where it’s okay to mess up and make mistakes.”
Some of her other hobbies include running and weight training. She even used to obstacle race when she was younger. In past years, she’s helped with GLOW, a club at GCVI where girls can work out together.
Her current project at GCVI is the Science Study Hall, a place where students can meet at lunch and ask questions or work together on science. She understands the challenges that students often face such as the breadth of subjects in biology: “You could be studying cells, organisms, evolution…,” Mrs. Warren explains. “It’s a lot of information, but they all connect together. [So] just be open… and you might find something that you're really excited about.”
“She is,” Sydney B. writes, “the most genuine, kind, thoughtful, and hardworking teacher I know.”