As a second-grade teacher, there are no two days that are exactly alike. Sometimes there are unexpected classroom learning moments, or the funny things seven-year-olds say and do every day.
Kali Oyen was born and raised in Mount Horeb. She graduated from Mount Horeb High School in 2017 before she attended UW-Platteville, where she graduated in the winter of 2021 with a double major in early childhood education and special education. She really enjoyed her student-teaching near La Crosse, in the Bangor and West Salem school districts, from September to December 2021. After graduation, she began by subbing at schools in Mount Horeb and Mineral Point. This soon led to her getting a full-time job at Potosi School District in 2022. She is now in her fifth year of teaching second grade and is loving it.
Although her career began in Potosi, her interest in teaching started much earlier. Growing up, her passion for wanting to be a teacher started because she had so many awesome role models. She was surrounded by children and educators, which helped shape her decision to pursue a career in the classroom. “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” she said. With five younger siblings, she gained plenty of experience caring for children through babysitting and nannying. Her mother, who is also a teacher, provided an early look at what working in education could be like. She also remembers having many great teachers throughout her own school years, giving her positive examples of the impact educators can have on their students.
When it came time to find a permanent teaching position, Potosi became the right fit for her. Some of her family and friends lived in the area, so when a job opened up here, she didn’t hesitate to apply. This not only gave her the permanent teaching job she wanted, but it got her closer to the people she loves.
However, entering the classroom as a teacher taught her the lessons that college alone could not fully prepare her for. “Teaching is way different than what I thought it would be growing up and in college,” she explained. “Every year, every kid, and every day is different.”
In a classroom full of seven-year-olds, patience and flexibility are essential. A lesson that works great one day might need to be changed and adjusted the next, and being ready as a teacher to adjust to these changes is key in a second-grade classroom. “Just when you start to think you might have something figured out, things change, and you realize you have to pivot and adjust!” Oyen said.
Looking back now on her early years of teaching, she said she would have given herself more patience, and she would share with her younger self some of the strategies she has learned along the way. She explained how teaching is a skill that develops through experiences rather than something that can be completely mastered before stepping into the classroom. Every student brings different needs, and every school year presents new opportunities to improve.
She also described the craft of teaching as something special and unique. “Some of the funniest moments in my room come from out-of-pocket things that seven-year-olds say and do,” she said. Rather than making the classroom strictly about assignments and lessons, she believes laughter and enjoyment are very important parts of learning too. She tries to bring fun into the classroom as much as possible, while creating an environment where students feel comfortable being themselves.
Oyen also expressed how, “Kids are only kids once, and it goes by fast, so I hope they all get to enjoy it, and I try to make school a place kids like to be!” She wants her students to want to come to school. She wants her students to be curious and want to discover new ideas around them while she helps them with their academic education. Creating positive experiences is very important and meaningful to Oyen.
After five years of teaching second grade in Potosi, Kali Oyen’s experiences have shown her that the profession is full of unknown surprises. Although every day brings something different and new, she continues to find joy in working with young students as they grow, and in making her classroom a welcoming place.