This year, Salida High School has introduced many new teachers, one of which being Kate Herrick-Madden, a biology teacher and a freshman advisor.
Prior to teaching science at the Salida Middle School for 11 years, Herrick-Madden worked in the Peace Corps and found her love for it was able to use her background in natural resource management to realize her love of teaching for the first time.
“I pursued my license and degree because I really enjoyed teaching people about the world they lived in,” said Herrick-Madden.
Now teaching at the high school level, Herrick-Madden describes the students maturity and their individual preparedness or readiness to embrace responsibility is a big difference, but that both are dynamic and enjoyable.
“Working with kids for about ten years and then coming up here and seeing a lot of them in their older selves has really been a joy,” Herrick-Madden said.
Herrick-Madden’s favorite part of teaching is “watching kids have ah-ha moments, because it means that they are making connections with their own lives.” She also loves knowing that she has had a positive impact on students and their love for science, while they are figuring out who they want to be.
Herrick-Madden describes her teaching style as relaxed but with high expectations.
Some goals that Herrick-Madden has for this year are to adapt her teaching style and make adjustments to her expectations to the new group of students. She also hopes to continue to make her class fun and interesting so that students are better able to stay engaged.
“I think the hardest part is the disconnect between the job that we are doing as educators for the community and our nation in terms of helping educate and create a population that can safely and appropriately engage in society,” says Herrick-Madden, describing the most difficult part of being a teacher is.
Herrick-Madden says, “You can walk outside and be impacted by the wildlife the weather the environment any of that, so helping people understand what those pieces are and how they are important and how they work together is really important and is an exciting thing and teaching kids is even better because helping them understand the word they live in so that they are literate compassionate productive members of society.”
Salida High School is happy to welcome Herrick-Madden while she continues her teaching career as a science teacher. Herrick-Madden is so excited to be teaching her former middle school students as they mature. She is eager to meet new students and get to know staff.