Central High School has a full time substitute teacher who shares her knowledge, experience, and help to all her students.
Mrs. Chumakova is a sweet and kind teacher. She is a full time substitute teacher here at Central High School. She is teaching English to ELL students in the back buildings and in the morning she helps students in their physical science class with Mr. Cooper.
She is helping these students learn a new language from zero. “Students teach me and I teach students,” she said.
She has been teaching for approximately 35 years. During her career she taught in Russia for about 12 or 13 years. Throughout her long career she has taught people of all ages and from many cultural backgrounds too. Including: Spanish, Russian, and German.
She has worked for Knox County schools and has taught University level. “I was the first and only foreigner at Karns Elementary School,” she said.
Languages are one of her passions, since an early age she knew she wanted to be a language teacher. Her inspiration was her English teacher. From a very young age she loved languages, their background, and their sound. She was taught British English, “The sound of English was enchanting for me,” she said.
Performing on stage was something she loved to do. “The sound of the new language, the concept, the way teachers carried themselves with several languages,” she said. When she saw the teacher in front of the class teaching the students, it was like seeing a person perform to the audience.
Teaching students a new language is difficult and it requires determination and preparation. “First they have to understand the psychology of students and know the students’ educational background,” she said. It helps not only students but teachers too. “You can motivate a student to like what you do,” she said. Sometimes students need motivation, “Motivation is a very important quality of a teacher,” she said.
Life can be busy for her, but she still makes time to do what she enjoys. She enjoys travelling internationally and also loves international food. Exploring the world is something she enjoys. “I love traveling,” she said. She has visited many places and soon she will be visiting Spain. “I am an international person, I do not belong to any particular spot in this world,” she said.
When she is not working she likes to spend her time watching movies, cooking, baking, reading, and gardening. She enjoys decorating her house and planting plants. Dedication revolves around her, learning new languages is one of her hobbies. She can speak three languages: German, Russian, English, and is trying to learn Spanish.
She is a great addition and a great helper to many students. Her inspiration and support is what makes her an admirable teacher.
Read more of The Bobcat Times:
The Bobcat Times 