Bellefonte has a variety of incredible educators and influential people. Among those incredible educators, some truly redefine what it means to be a teacher, with one of these being our own AP Psychology and history teacher Mrs. Christine Morris.
Mrs. Morris is beloved all throughout the school for her compassion, willingness to teach, and overall likeability. Over the course of her life, Mrs. Morris has bounced around the country, originally being raised in New York, going to college at Penn State University, and finally becoming a teacher here at Bellefonte. Every now and then, students take note of her accent, especially when she gets to talking about her mother or other family members.
Most notice Mrs. Morris’s love for her students, as she is widely recognized around the school as one of the most welcoming and warm teachers.
“One of my favorite things about working at the high school level is getting to have meaningful conversations with students as they begin to form their own ideas about the world. I love helping them discover their interests and figure out who they want to be in the future… Overall, it’s amazing to see how my students grow intellectually from their first day in ninth grade to their graduation day,” she said.
Students in her AP Psychology class have pooled their thoughts on both the atmosphere of her classes, as well as her ability to connect with students.
“It’s really nice how understanding she is when it comes to our personal situations and that she never judges anyone based on their grades,” junior Victoria Schellenberg said.
Students also love the well-paced classes and engaging conversations pertinent to each and every one of Mrs. Morris’s lessons. Most students also agree that Mrs. Morris strays away from the traditional landscape seen in other classes, and travels into a more collaborative space, allowing everyone’s thoughts to be explored.
What truly sets Mrs. Morris apart however, is her innate ability to spark interest in students, and draw parallels between their textbooks and modern day life. Often incorporating discussions about popular culture contrasted with historical evidence, Mrs. Morris prepares Bellefonte students for further education.
Throughout class times, Mrs. Morris informs students about issues and topics pertaining to the current economic, political, and social state of the world. Some students shared their opinions on Mrs. Morris’s values on teaching.
“The flow of class, and the things we talk about make it fun to be there. Sometimes we work on group stuff or projects and I just like her method of teaching through that stuff,” senior Owen Cordon said.
Amongst all of the different classes offered here at Bellefonte, it is clear that Mrs. Morris’s psychology and other social studies classes are very worthwhile, not just because of the information, but the incredible educator at the center of it all.
