Science Teacher Ms. Lisa Stokes has taken her first permanent teaching position at Milton High School. She teaches Keystone Biology, Ecology, and PC Now Medical Technology.
Ms. Stokes said she first started teaching as a substitute science teacher in 2014 at Meadowbrook Christian School.
“The administrator (Mr.) Rod Baughman…was a friend of mine and asked me to just fill in until they got a permanent teacher. That’s how it all started,” said Ms. Stokes.
Ms. Stokes said she chose to teach at Milton because the kids and the faculty made her feel like she could make a difference here. When she took the job, Ms. Stokes said she was expecting to teach Anatomy and Biology. She added that the administration changed the plan, and that meant she had to teach the new ecology curriculum.
“STEELS (Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability) for next year will be more focused on the ‘sense making approach’ of science,” explained Ms. Stokes. “This means that students will not focus on memorization of facts, but more on researching and exploring natural occurrences in science,” she said, “The focus will be on real world applications of concepts,” she added.
It’s hard to get used to everything this year, if it’s changing the next, she said. “The stuff I’m teaching myself this year, I’ll have to do something new next year,” she added.
Ms. Stokes earned her degree in Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh, where she said she originally planned to go to medical school to be a pediatrician. She added that she published two papers on medical research for monkeys while she was a student.
She later got her teaching certification and master’s degree in curriculum instruction at Bloomsburg University.
“I feel like it was God’s plan for me,” said Ms. Stokes, adding that she fell in love with teaching.
Ms. Stokes said her favorite part of teaching is when students really understand the lesson or assignment.
“When they understand something or have the ‘ah ha’ moment, I like to see them excel,” she explained. On the other hand, she added that the hardest thing about teaching is when the students just don’t try or even care.
Sophomore Emmi Eisenhauer has Ms. Stokes for Keystone Biology. “Sometimes it’s easier to focus on the lesson when she adds jokes,” she said.
Ms. Stokes is not just a science teacher. In fact, she said her family owns a trucking and warehouse company along with a real estate company, at which she worked previously. Along with that she said she’s a very busy mom with three athletic kids. She added that one of her sons is a wrestler at Bucknell and another son is a pitcher in Tennesse, and her daughter plays college soccer in Georgia.
She said she’s always been involved with caring for kids. “My whole life has been my kids,” she added.
