Iola Middle School language arts and yearbook teacher Gabi Brite returns to teaching after an adventure of relocation and more.
A graduate of K-State who grew up in Shawnee Mission, Brite started her career in Kansas City, Mo., teaching at the elementary school level for nine years. She moved to South Carolina, where she taught both middle and elementary school education in the town of Pelion and city of Lexington for 11 years combined.
Brite moved to southeast Kansas four years ago after marrying her husband, who lives in Le Roy. Brite said initially it was an uphill battle finding a teaching job. In the short term, she was a produce manager. At IMS she is in charge of sixth grade language arts and eighth graders creating the school yearbook.
Brite said she hopes to create building blocks of learning for her students.
“If we can get down to the root of things and have discussions about it, that can create a love for the subject.”
The latest electronic gadgets have been the biggest change for Brite in her return to the classroom after a five-year absence. She said the staff has been helpful in giving her pointers.
“We didn’t have all the technology when I was in school,” Brite said. “They didn’t have Chromebooks and everything wasn’t online. It has been a transition.”
The school has also changed companies for the yearbook design, which involves a new software program.
One of the early changes she’s experienced since moving to southeast Kansas is the variable weather.
“Humidity out in South Carolina is not like out here,” Brite said. “When it’s 100 degrees there, you could still walk and exercise. When it’s 100 degrees here, you can cut air with a knife.”
Being in a small town is nothing new to Brite. In the Pelion schools class sizes were also small. She said that Pelion is so small that there was only one stop light. In Iola, she said she can at least get groceries without being in a food desert.
Some learning material has been slightly different, according to Brite. She hopes to create building blocks of learning for her students.
“It’s a slower pace than what I remember, but I like it that way,” Brite said of when she taught in South Carolina. “If we can get down to the root of things and have discussions about it, that can create a love for the subject.”
The latest electronic gadgets have been the biggest change for Brite in her return to the classroom after a five-year absence. She said the staff has been helpful in giving her pointers.
“We didn’t have all the technology when I was in school,” Brite said. “They didn’t have Chromebooks and everything wasn’t online. It has been a transition.”
The school has also changed companies for the yearbook design, which involves a new software program.
In the long term, Brite hopes to get a master’s degree. She has been taking classes at Pittsburg State University on the side in addition studies at the College of Charleston.
Brite wants her students to take the next leap with English and language studies.
“I want to improve their reading,” Brite said. “I want to see them enjoy reading and have fun with it.”
