With the holidays right around the corner it is important to recognize the greatest gifts of all: passionate educators. Mrs. Christanson is a great example of an educator who is passionate about helping students learn. She teaches several subjects, from honors, college preparatory (CP), and advanced placement (AP) biology, to sports PE. These courses take an educator prepared to teach all grade levels, from freshman, to juniors and seniors. Mrs. Christanson has been able to handle this responsibility after just two years of teaching at HHS.
In her short time here she has already found so much to love about the environment on Hughson High’s campus. Mrs. Christanson recalls, “I have really enjoyed doing Winter Wishes this year and I can’t wait to help Mrs. Ruelas next year.” For those who don’t know, Winter Wishes are offered to all students, with a simple request to a google form. The form is available on each class of [insert graduating class], Google Classroom. For example, the 2025 Google Classroom offers a winter wish request beginning November 27, 2023 till December 1, 2023. Before school gets out for winter break, “students who may be lacking essential items for daily life,” will have the chance to receive the gift requested at no cost to them. Evidently this experience is enjoyed by those who take pride in helping others, Mrs. Christanson explains,“[i]t has brought so much joy to my life to see students so happy for the gifts they received.”
This giving teacher also enjoys being a part of the community. “I love everything about Hughson,” furthermore, “[my] family runs generations deep here and I am so proud of that,” this kind of appreciation is crafted through the tradition of kindness, community, and connection built throughout Hughson over so many years. Kindness is spread throughout the community, but Mrs. Christanson makes it a priority to continue this effort in the classroom. Mrs. Christianson’s best piece of advice for students is “‘You may not get the best grades or be the best at biology, but everyday when you enter my classroom you can be kind. You can’t choose many things in life but kindness is something that is actively chosen everyday’.” For a student to live life with kindness is not explicitly stated in curriculum, but some teachers go the extra mile to craft brilliant minds and attitudes; Mrs. Christanson chooses to do this and is a better educator for it.
The excellence of teaching in Mrs. Christanson’s classroom does not stop at her philosophies but continues into the quality of her education abilities. Students see this effort and recognize the benefits it has on their understanding of the subject matter. For example, Sophia Kelley, a student this year in Mrs. Christiansosn AP Biology course, states, “[Mrs. Christianson] has hands-on labs that allow [students] to make their own predictions and mistakes.” To many experts, the key to learning is making mistakes and finding strategies to hypothesize answers. Mrs. Christanson’s learning style allows for this process and she too believes in the technique as it is “something [Mrs. Chrisanson] value[s] the most in teaching.” Furthermore, “students enjoy coming to my class even if it isn’t their favorite subject because of the activities that we do,”explains Mrs. Christanson. However, don’t just take her world for it, AP Biology student Isabella Villarreal agrees, “the labs they can be very fun.”
Whether it’s encouraging kindness and spreading joy on campus through acts of giving, or teaching students to learn science in an enjoyable and effective way, Mrs. Christanson demonstrates the significance of a teacher who loves the work they do and does the job well.
