Last year, a lot of teachers either retired or left teaching in Cannon Falls. One of these particular teachers was Mr. Buchheit, a physical science and S.T.E.M teacher. To take his place, the school hired Ms. Hudy. As students meet the new teachers, there are some questions that arise.

A question that usually pops up into people’s minds is how long the teacher has been teaching. This is Ms. Hudy’s first year, and she was previously a student teacher in two different schools, including Woodbury High School and ESTEM middle school. She also taught at her local church when she was younger to get the feel of teaching. But, neither of those were the same as teaching a full grade. According to Ms. Hudy, “I have always had the ambition to teach or be part of education.” Considering her extensive past of trying out teaching, her passion makes sense. Another thing that students ask about is her backstory. 

Ms. Hudy lived in Minnesota her whole life, and currently lives with her husband and animals. Growing up, she actually didn’t like science. “I struggled to get help from my teacher and never thought I would enjoy science class.” It wasn’t until college that she started to understand it. Because of this, she wanted to teach science so she could help students understand it sooner rather than later. But, she was uncertain of what she wanted to teach.

 Ms. Hudy decided on teaching 9th grade for two reasons. The first reason was her avoidance of teaching Elementary School. “I knew I never wanted to teach elementary school students, I feel like I do not have the stamina to have high energy each and every day for kindergarteners!” The second was who she felt 9th graders were. “9th graders can be such a fun age. On one hand, you are all finally learning to mature and are learning how to be adults, but at the same time you can have the humor and energy of middle schoolers and I find it so funny at times!” After teaching for more than a month, Ms. Hudy has some opinions on it.

 Some teachers may not find it to be their thing, but Ms. Hudy has a different idea. After a couple of weeks she’s expressed that she is enjoying it, saying “Each day is different and brings new and exciting experiences. I feel like I am learning just as much as my students each and every day.” She also has gotten the hang of how busy it can get, but is still working on balancing her work and outside life.  She is also trying to avoid making her classes too repetitive by balancing her lectures and her activities for her students.

When teaching, the first year is always the hardest, and involves a lot of time, patience, and understanding. The students and how they treat the teacher also play a huge role in shaping a teacher’s year. As mentioned, Ms. Hudy seems to be happy with her job so far, although it does appear to be very time consuming. As long as it’s worth it, and Ms. Hudy is liking her job, then that’s really all that matters.