TEACHER'S CORNER: NOTRE DAME TEACHER SHARES HER SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE BOTH IN AND OUT OF CLASSROOM

Angela Schaefer shares her knowledge of chemistry and chemical substances both in and outside of the classroom.

"In my classroom I try to take abstract topics and present them in a way that has relevance to my students' lives," said the 11-year teaching veteran who has worked her entire career at Notre Dame High School. "We are very active in providing education on drugs and substance abuse."

Besides teaching Algebra I, chemistry and advanced chemistry to students at Notre Dame, she is also a moderator for the school's SADD chapter and is a member of the Notre Dame Substance Abuse Prevention Team.

Schaefer tries to integrate a number of strategies in her classroom teaching, including ideas from the Internet and other teachers. In this day and age when teachers have to compete with computer games, Internet, Nintendo and television, teachers have to look for fun, practical activities to help students learn concepts, she said.

Schaefer said high school teachers rarely receive immediate gratification from their students. More often, it is several years before a teacher learns that what she does in the classroom has an impact, she said.

"The most memorable times have been when a former student comes back to say that their college chemistry classes are a breeze because of the background I provided or when they say that the career choice they made was because of you," she said. "It's also nice when a freshman wants to know how to get you as his algebra teacher because you were his sister's favorite teacher.

"It's these times that makes me realize all the long hours and hard work were not in vain and I do make a difference."

Schaefer's hobbies include water skiing, swimming, reading and making silk flower arrangements. She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University. She and her husband Don have three daughters and are members of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Chaffee.