Student Nomination Story

Mr. Bisbee By Molly Thusius, grade 11 Walking into Mr. Bisbee’s biology class, second semester of my sophomore, I could tell that the room was tense, the people were nervous, and he was excited to get to work with a new group of students. On the first day, we only spent about 15 minutes on the stuff that takes most teachers a whole day to go over, and then we started working on our first unit. This was better for me because I have a hard time sitting still and had already gone over three syllabus’s prior to that class. We had a lot of labs in his class. I’ve had labs in other classes, but not nearly as many as I had in Bisbee’s class. I’m a tactical learner (hands on), so doing all of them helped me understand what was going on. Within the first week, we did our first lab. I was happy that I finally had a teacher that would teach me through the way that I learn best. We did a parade to learn about DNA, and we did a square dance (where he brought in live chickens and we wore bandanas) to learn about meiosis. We also did the mitosis disco dance to learn the process. Almost everyone in my class (including me) did the dance during the test because it was the best way to remember it. He gave us a lot of work to do, but enough time to do it. We usually had multiple class times to work on our lab reports and other assignments. He gave “pop” quizzes but he always hinted when they would be so we had time to prepare. He wanted to make sure we all knew what he was teaching so that we weren’t confused and knew the material. I have landscape ecology with him this year (my junior year), he doesn’t tell us if we can use our notes until the day of the test/quiz. This motivates me to study as hard as I possibly can, just in case we can’t, and if we can, it’s always a fun challenge to see how much I can do without looking at my notes. Just the other day, we had a quiz we could use our notes on. I had mine out but he couldn’t see them. He excitedly asked in front of the class “Ms. Thusius, are you using no notes today?” I replied “No, they’re on my desk.” But for the rest of the quiz, I tried my best not to use them. I am so grateful to have been assigned to his biology class last year because he taught me that hard work pays off and if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. So thank you Mr. Bisbee, for making science fun.

Molly Thusius

Mr. Bisbee By Mia Hansen, grade 11 I hated science my freshman year. Walking into a science room with the black topped tables and plastic chairs made me miserable. I struggled with mental health and ended up in a hospital halfway through freshman year. On top of that, science was first thing in the morning. I would avoid looking at my science grade because I simply didn't care. I wouldn't do the work, I would rush through things, make up answers, copy other people, you name it. My teachers made it hard for me to love science. I also had a fear of snakes. Mr. Bisbee, the Arrowhead biology teacher, would hold his snake, Mr. Slithers, out in the hallways. I had a fear that the snake would jump out of his arms and attack me if I looked at it. After a while, I changed my route just to avoid seeing it. My sophomore year of high school, I had Mr. Bisbee for Biology. I was hesitant at first because there were snakes in his room and I also had an existing hatred for science. As time went on, I realized his teaching style was different. His classroom was a quiet environment but every now and then we would get up, act through scripts and square dance to songs about cells. He even brought his chickens in to dance with us. When we did labs, I understood what I was doing. I felt smart in his class which was very new to me. I learned that I was a smart person, I just needed to find the right teacher to teach me. My fear of snakes was still a factor though. He would greet students who came through the door with Mr. Slithers wrapped around his arms. He made sure we were comfortable with snakes before offering to let kids hold him. One day, I was offered a chance to hold the snake, so I did. He made sure I knew how to hold him and it made me feel safe knowing how easy snakes were. And soon after, I would hold the snake during class as much as I could. We found out that I scored higher on tests holding a snake than I did without. By the end of the year, the only thing I would think about is how biology was ending and that I would never see Mr. Bisbee or Mr. Slithers again. Mr. Bisbee introduced me to the other side of science and I am very grateful for that. Now, I have my own pet snake at the foot of my bed that I interact with almost every day. My main goal in life is to major in biology in college. My dream job is to be a microbiologist in a forensic field. My love for biology dug a whole path for my life, but I couldn't have done it without Mr. Bisbee. Thank you Mr. Bisbee.

Mia Hansen

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