Katherine Bordelon’s degree is in biology, although she comes from a family of teachers. She didn’t gravitate toward teaching until the end of college. It was through a scholarship program at LSU called Step-Thru-Stem that allowed her to get a secondary education teaching certificate at the same time as her biology degree with the addition of a few classes and student teaching. As a youngster, her dream adult job was to work with animals like her idol, Stephen Irwin, nicknamed “The Crocodile Hunter.” He was an Australian zookeeper, television personality, wildlife expert, environmentalist, and conservationist who died from a freak Stingray injury to the heart. She didn’t lose interest, but the lure of becoming a science teacher was stronger. Now, she’s in her 14th year of teaching, four of them at University View Academy in seventh-grade science.
Her philosophy is to make science fun and relevant to the kids and get them excited about attending her live sessions. “They see I love what I teach.” I love doing experiments with them. It’s important to know what’s going on in the world of science around them,” Mrs. Bordelon said. “You don’t have to be the best student to learn about science,” she offered. But if a student has difficulty, She is available. “I like the fact I can bring my students in one-on-one to see where they’re struggling and help them,” Mrs. Bordelon noted. She says she feels closer to students in the online world than in a brick-and-mortar classroom. “Students are in their element and are comfortable communicating with the teacher. I love that about our environment,” she exclaimed.
As her friends call her, Mrs. Bordelon, or Katie, is currently working on a master’s degree but says that won’t make a massive change in her life. “I want to keep teaching. I don’t want to do anything else,” Katie said emphatically. Covid-19 has not affected her teaching, and she says her students haven’t missed a beat and are “… pretty resilient.” The most significant change for her and her family is spending much more time in the house. That’s tough for her since she loves being outdoors in nature.