Ms. Cindy Paarman, high school ALE teacher, has been in education for 22 years. She has been with the Cedar Ridge School District for 11 of those years.
What led you to teaching? I wanted to be a teacher when I was in second grade because I always helped my teacher grade spelling papers. I thought that’s all teachers did. In my second year of college, I found a note from my favorite teacher in high school and that was the encouragement that led me to change my degree and pursue teaching.
Why are you so passionate about teaching your students? I am passionate about teaching because you never know if that one thing you do or one thing you say may be the positive turning point in a student’s life. Often you may not know if you were ever a positive influence in the life of a student. Then, one day, out of the blue, you see a former student who tells you that you made a big difference in their life. That’s what teaching is truly about.
How do you spend your free time/weekends? I love quiet weekends with my animals.
What is your favorite part of teaching? My favorite part of teaching is when a student has been struggling and suddenly they get it.
How did you spend your summer break? I usually go to the beach in Florida, but this year I spent some of my summer helping with a church summer program. I made some new friends and met some awesome kids.
What inspires you? People who have taught for many years and still love what they do. New teachers also inspire me as they bring new, fresh ideas, and so much energy!
What’s the best thing about being a teacher? When you are a teacher, you are often so much more than just that to your students. I like being in a position to help with whatever need a student may have.
If you were a Cedar Ridge student for a day, which teacher’s room would you wish to enroll in, and why? I would enroll in Mr. Conyers’ radio class because I love journalism and, rumor has it, his class is awesome!
If you could take your students on a field trip to anywhere in the world, where would that be and why? I would take my students to Disney World where there’s lots of fun and no classrooms - only smiles and laughter.
If you weren’t a teacher, what would you be? I would be a journalist. I was a newspaper reporter and photographer for 10 years and loved it.