Jo Hellmich learned to love teaching from her fourth grade teacher, and everyday she shares with her own students she works with, to pass on a love for learning.

“If I had to choose one word to describe my teaching career, it would be ‘joy’,” Hellmich says. “Teaching gives me such a feeling of satisfaction. Getting a new group of energetic students every fall is like waking up on Christmas morning with 25 presents under the tree.”

Hellmich currently teaches second grade at Silverhill Elementary School, where she has been teaching for 21 years.

She has been teaching for a total of 24 years.

Hellmich says her fourth grade teacher Ethel Lowery at Flomaton Elementary School inspired her to be the kind of energetic and interactive teacher she is today.

“She was a petite lady but full of enthusiasm, and I often told her, ‘When I grow up, I want to be just like you’,” Hellmich says. “She had excellent classroom management skills and she needed them; there were 42 students in class.”

Years later, when she got her first opportunity to teach, Hellmich says Lowery’s ability to teach such a large class helped her overcome a similar task.

“My first teaching assignment was a sixth grade position in Perdido,” Hellmich says. “I had 38 sixth graders: 32 boys and only 6 girls. Most of the students were taller than me. On the first day, I took a deep breath and told myself that if Mrs. Lowery could teach 42 students, I could teach 38.”

After all these years of teaching, Hellmich says she enjoys watching her students take lessons from her classroom and apply them to everyday life.

“My favorite aspect of teaching is watching the students grow academically and seeing them apply their knowledge to the real world,” Hellmich says. “It thrills me when students notice something outside of the classroom and explain how it relates to what they’ve learned. At that point, I know the students are thinking and not just memorizing facts.”

Year after year, Hellmich says she aims to inspire her students

“It may sound cliché, but I hope to inspire students to be lifelong learners and always give their best effort in whatever they do,” Hellmich says. “Teaching is more than imparting knowledge but building character as well. If I can inspire a student to persevere in whatever task is at hand and believe that they can achieve their goal, I’ve done my job.”

TEACHER: Jo Hellmich

SCHOOL: Silverhill Elementary School

SUBJECT(S) TAUGHT: Second Grade

SOMETHING UNUSUAL ABOUT YOURSELF: When students ask me how old I am, I tell them, "I am as old as NASA." NASA became an official government agency in 1958, the same year I was born. I was fortunate to have spent my 40th birthday at Space Academy for Educators at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. I love to teach Earth and space science, and the students really seem to enjoy learning about it, so it's win-win for everyone.