Ms.Belly has been teaching at Iselin Middle School for over 17 years and is currently one of the sixth grade history teachers! She has always had a passion for history and as a teacher, has found a way to bring it to life. Today, I asked Ms.Belly about her career as a teacher and a basketball coach.
Panther Press: Hello Ms.Belly, How are you today?
Ms.Belly: I’m good.
Panther Press: What inspired you to become a teacher?
Ms. Belly: I never thought I would become a teacher. I always knew I wanted to do something to help people, especially kids. I had this passion for history, and it kind of fell into my lap, and turns out that I really love it.
Panther Press: That’s good! But why did you become a history teacher?
Ms.Belly: I had a history teacher in high school named Mr.Cane, and he had this type of personality that made it so interesting and really brought it to life. I knew I wanted to be that type of person if I became a teacher. I also always loved history!
Panther Press: Did you want to become a teacher?
Ms. Belly: No, in high school I wanted to do something with computer animation but that required drawing skills and then I thought about archaeology but then you needed a chemistry background. Education ran in my family so that kind of led me onto this path.
Panther Press: When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up and why?
Ms.Belly: During middle school we never thought about it but the plan was to do something with animals and try to be a veterinarian. And then people’s opinions shaped my decision.
Panther Press: Why did you decide on no homework?
Ms.Belly: I honestly don’t want to load up on homework. You guys have a life out of school just like I do and there is no reason you stay up at night doing work and I don’t want you guys spending hours on it. Plus, then we would have to grade it so if I assign homework to you that’s homework for me!
Panther Press: If you don’t assign homework how do you check if your students understand the topic?
Ms.Belly: I usually figure it out with different ideas: who actually works and who understands in partner work. I see them through the do-now questions, the open notes quizzes, the projects since they are individual assignments, the gimkits, and just normal assignments like worksheets.
Panther Press: What is your favorite non-traditional teaching method?
Ms.Belly: Sometimes it works against me but I don’t have a seating chart, sometimes people become too comfortable with each other and that can become a problem but it sets a tone of more of a relaxed atmosphere. I also try to understand things not just from a teacher’s view but also from a student’s perspective.
Panther Press: Do your students enjoy these methods?
Ms.Belly: For the most part, it’s hard to gauge with history. It’s also about having a good rapport with the students. It’s the way I teach things, or who I am which leaves an impression.
Panther Press: What do you think about your job as a teacher?
Ms.Belly: I think it is one of those jobs that are constantly changing. It’s interesting to see how things have changed and how the personalities of children grew.
Panther Press: Do you enjoy your job?
Ms.Belly: I do! I feel that there is a lot of extra things that we have to do that may take away from teaching such as preparing for standardized tests. But for the most part I love what I do.
Panther Press: Did you teach any other topics besides history?
Ms.Belly: I have always been a history teacher, but I have taught all different grades. Before geography became an elective class, geography was the topic for seventh grade. For sixth grade I taught American History, seventh grade I taught civics and for eighth grade I taught world history. All of it is like history but just different parts in it.
Panther Press: What is the most important part of your teaching students having fun or covering the curriculum?
Ms.Belly: I think that there can be a healthy relationship between both. If we don’t get through the curriculum, oh well. But if we did certain things that took more time but were fun, I think that’s more important than getting through a list of topics because those are the things they’re going to remember.
Panther Press: How has technology changed the way you teach?
Ms.Belly: AI started when I was a kid. It changed the way I teach by starting to embrace some of the technology with AI. If taught properly it can be very useful but I also think it takes away individuality like individual thought because some people now go right to the computer instead of using their brain. I mean there are a lot of benefits and also a lot of negatives with technology.
Panther Press: How has the concept of teaching changed since you were a child?
Ms.Belly: Discipline has definitely changed. When I was in school, we never talked back to a teacher. But now, some students are like “can I go to the bathroom” “no” “why?” I think that also children are taught more to question certain things, instead of being told what to do, understand what to do.
Panther Press: What did you do before teaching?
Ms.Belly: I was a manager at A&P which is like a Shoprite and even when I started teaching I still worked there part time until I thought it was a lot and said, “You know what? No.”
Panther Press: Did you do anything with sports?
Ms.Belly: In high school I played basketball and that got me a scholarship into college and then I messed up my knee which was the end of my basketball career. But then I started coaching girls basketball.
Panther Press: Did you enjoy it?
Ms.Belly: Yes, I love basketball. I love teaching it. The passion for the sport was what kept me coaching for a long time. There was something about sharing what I loved; it was like sharing knowledge. After I started having a family I kind of took a step back.
Panther Press: What school did you coach?
Ms.Belly: Here at Iselin Middle School!
Panther Press: Was the basketball season good?
Ms.Belly: In terms of wins and loses, no, if you’re talking in terms of progress, it was successful.
Panther Press: Anything else you would like to tell us?
Ms.Belly: I just think that if you really want to do something you shouldn’t let anything challenge you. Sometimes it is the failures that bring you success.
Panther Press: Thank you!
