by Corinne Gries
Dianna’s classroom is often described by her students as positive, encouraging, and accepting. Her teaching is focused on seeing her students as other souls who are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, cousins and friends, who also laugh, cry, love and hurt. Her biggest advice to new teachers is to always see their students as people. Dianna has been teaching for 20 years and had the opportunity to have both of her sons (who are now in their early 20s) as students! It was an experience she embraced as their teacher and their mom. Today she will cancel any plans to spend time with them!
Hometown: I grew up in the small town of Lewistown, IL.
Current City: I have lived in South Bend, IN, for over 25 years.
College/Degree: I have a BA in both English and Accounting from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL; I also have an MA in English from Indiana University South Bend in South Bend, IN.
Current school and position: I teach senior-level English at Clay High School in South Bend, IN: ACP, AP Lit, and English 12.
Years in teaching: This year marks my 10th at Clay High School; I also taught for about 10 years at Granger Christian School in Granger, IN.
Describe your school in one sentence: Clay is like a family with some of the brightest, liveliest, most talented students and staff; I always feel blessed to be a part of it!
Share what gives you energy in your classroom: This response will sound cliché, but it’s true: my students give me energy! At heart, I am a good-natured teaser and my students pick up on this right away. Many enter my room more relaxed due to this setting. I always inform them up front that we have lots of work to do, but we may as well have some fun doing it. I love when students begin to feel comfortable enough to “give it right back” - and I am impressed that they know this repartee is a fun way to create an environment where students feel welcome. I find students will do more of what a person asks if they sincerely like the person doing the asking. (I also share that if anyone doesn’t want to be teased to let me know; in twenty years of teaching, I have never had any student ask me not to tease him or her.)
Favorite book you read this year: I loved Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
Your go-to activities to recharge: Usually when I feel the need to recharge or to get my mind off of school, I will hop in the car, turn up the music, stop at McDonald’s to get a large Diet Coke, and drive. I never know where I’m going, but I eventually make my way back home. If the weather doesn’t permit a relaxing drive, I most likely will stay home and clean, belting out the lyrics to favorite songs I ask Alexa to play.
Interesting tidbits: I enjoy spending time with family and friends, laughing while playing games, watching movies, enjoying some dinner and maybe some wine tasting, and partaking in other activities that lead us on the next adventure.
Beyond these activities, I like to work around the house with my four-legged daughter in tow; she would much prefer going for rides or playing fetch than watching me grade.
One day I hope to travel to Australia and to Greece.
The students at Clay High School in South Bend, Indiana are fortunate to have Dianna Christopher as their teacher; her dedication to the profession and students is an asset to the community.
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