Heroes in Education: Rena Clyburn

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Heroes in Education: Rena Clyburn

Sat, 02/27/2021 - 14:26
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Rena Clyburn teaches 8th grade science at East Middle School. Clyburn moved around a lot due to her mother’s job with the FAA. Clyburn married a military man and her family moved several times over the years.

“We came to Oklahoma in November of 2004, where I took a long-term sub job at Po-Hi teaching algebra and science and have been there ever since,” said Clyburn.

Clyburn became interested in teaching when her oldest son started elementary school and he had volunteered in the library. She went back to college to become a teacher and had her first job as a science teacher in St. Louis, Missouri.

“I have also worked in Fayetteville, North Carolina as a science, social studies, and reading remediation teacher, in Millilani, Hawaii as a science and math teacher, and finally here in Ponca City, Oklahoma, as first a math teacher and then a science teacher,” said Clyburn. “I will say that I did work at Makalapa Elementary school in Hawaii for a few months when we first arrived there and I have nothing but the greatest respect for primary teachers. Oh my goodness, I do not know how they do it!”

To Clyburn, calling her job a job feels like making it out to be a chore when that isn’t the case.

“Do not get me wrong, it is a lot of work, a lot, but the challenge of designing and delivering learning opportunities to young people is amazing. It is not a job. It is so much more than that,” said Clyburn. “I get to share things that I find inspiring, intriguing and wonderful with others and watch them wonder at it as well. Sometimes they even see things from a new perspective they share with me and I learn, too. How cool is that?”

Clyburn also enjoys the people she gets to work with.

“From the food service people, the custodians, administration and all the support personnel and especially the other teachers, they make my day enjoyable, successful and fulfilling,” said Clyburn.

In her style of teaching, Clyburn wants to provide her students with the opportunities to think, master useful skills, evaluate evidence and situations from an objective point of view.

“I think that if teachers can do even part of those things, then they will have fulfilled their purpose,” said Clyburn.

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Heroes in Education: Rena Clyburn