A special thanks to 10th-grade chemistry teacher Mrs. Rohe for sitting down with the Norse Code to answer a few questions!

How has teaching virtually been so far? What have been some challenges? How did you overcome them?

I really like the format in the way we’re doing it this year versus the spring. I felt a lot more prepared for it because we went through a lot of training over the summer. We basically re-learned how to design instruction in the virtual world. I used a lot of those tools in order to get my students more engaged and do experiments and demonstrations. It’s also really nice because I can mute everybody, and I’m sure a lot of other teachers can say that as well! When students are getting super rowdy in class you have to clap your hands and get your students quiet. Now I can just “mute all!”.

What do you miss most about the normal school year?

It’s really hard to get to know somebody and get a feeling for who they are as a person. That personal bond that you get with students may be even more important than the actual content you’re learning. That’s what got me through high school, and we don’t have that. We don’t have those “Hey, can I stop by after class?” questions, or somebody stopping by to tell you a funny story. I miss that so much! I would love to hear your stories! I would love to form that bond that I’m missing quite a bit! Teaching is 20% content and 80% personality- getting to know your students. And that human aspect has really been missing.

What can/do students do that make the virtual experience better for you?

First of all, I’d love to see your faces. Some of you I’ve only seen the top of your heads, but having that face-to-face connection with eye contact, even through a computer, would be great. I get it, I used to be in high school too, and you don’t want to be on camera. But at the same time it would make it a lot more personal to see your face and actually talk to each other.

Students also should realize that they can ask for help in the virtual world! I notice that kids are struggling but they aren’t asking for help. Because we don’t have that personal connection, I don’t get those questions as much as before, and I think it’s because kids aren’t comfortable asking.

What’s your most memorable experience teaching?

A memorable experience I have is when students who aren’t my academically best students come back to see me. Recently, one student came back to say “I don’t know what happened sophomore year and I didn’t do the best in chemistry but I really loved your class.” Now he’s in AP Chem! It’s the students that come back that say that even though they didn’t get an A+, I helped them learn. By the way, I expect you to email me in college!

What’s your teaching philosophy?

My pedagogical philosophy is that if you can’t get students to buy into why your class is useful in their lives, they’ll never learn a thing from you. Relate everything to real life scenarios, and make it exciting to learn. Learning through experiences and learning through labs and demos is part of my teaching philosophy.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I was kidnapped! But it wasn’t a kidnapping, more of a snatching. I was five years old and we were living in Romania at the time, but my parents and grandparents and I went on a trip to Turkey. We were in a bazaar in Istanbul and my mom was holding my hand. My grandfather was bartering over some guy over a jean jacket. As soon as he bought the jacket, someone snatched me and almost walked away with me! I’ll never forget this- my grandfather had to give up his newly acquired jean jacket to barter me back. So I was traded for a jean jacket at the age of five in a Turkish bazaar!

What’s your biggest advice to high school students?

Be kind to yourselves, you don’t need an ulcer by the time you graduate high school. Looking back many years later, those failing tests or bad grades or that hard thing that happened is not what you remember. The overall high school experience is what matters. Be nicer to yourself and don’t worry about your grades so much. Worry more about what you’re learning and finding your passion.

Favorite lab experiment?

My favorite lab experiment is making sodium explode in water. Sodium is an alkali metal and any alkali metal that gets in contact with water has a violent chemical reaction. As soon as sodium touches water, it instantly lights on fire and explodes. I put holes in the desk in room 234 because I made sodium explode in water so much.

What are you currently watching?

My daughter Sabrina and I are currently watching Forensic Files and Saved by the Bell. The Umbrella Academy, Merlin, and Charmed were good too. I highly recommend The 100. It’s like a post-apocalyptic drama that my 11-year old and I love watching.

What’s your favorite snack?

Cheese. I love cheese, except I’m dairy-free at the moment.

What’s your favorite book?

Napoleon’s Buttons. It’s a really cool book with a historical perspective about how chemistry changes the world. It’s called Napoleon’s Buttons because his jacket buttons were made of tin. Tin gets very brittle when it gets cold. So the reason why the French Army was defeated was because all their buttons had burst on their jackets in the Russian winter. They couldn’t fight properly because they couldn’t load their guns while holding their jackets closed.

Who is your favorite artist?

Justin Timberlake!

Best quarantine hobbies?

We’ve been baking, reading, watching tv, playing with the dogs, teaching you guys, and a lot of cleaning.

If you weren’t a teacher, what would you want to be?

A chef. I guess chemistry and cooking are kind of related. Baking is more like chemistry, actually, but I don’t have the patience for baking. Cooking allows you to experiment with different flavor profiles.