Jerilee Melo has been teaching preschool for four years. When COVID-19 shut down her school, she began to wonder what her next Career move would be.
After several months, Melo decided to take a risk. She found a bus on Facebook Marketplace and purchased it in hopes of setting up her own teaching space.
Melo renovated (翻新) the bus and in August began teaching her first preschoolers, many of them her students in previous classrooms. To keep safe, Melo spread her class so that there were never more than five children on the bus with masks on.
Melo doesn’t move the bus during lessons, but parks it at a certain location and allows it to serve as a mobile classroom that utilizes the surroundings.
While her bus was renovated for teaching, Melo hadn’t been able to decorate it. In November she decided to enter a contest with Brittany Jeltema, a former teacher who now hosts giveaways for classroom makeovers (重新布置). Much to Melo’s surprise, Jeltema reached out telling her that she won.
“Jeri’s application stood out, because it was such an innovative approach to education,” Jeltema said.“Jeri submitted pictures of her bus before the makeover, and my brain lit up with ideas. I knew I could help create an engaging environment for her students.”
Over the course of a weekend, Jeltema and her team flew to Valencia, California, and transformed Melo’s mobile classroom into a 70’s style bus.
With her bus, Melo hopes to inspire other teachers to get creative during these unprecedented times.
“A lot of teachers are scared right now, because they feel they need to be in a classroom to educate. And they don’t,” Melo said. “I think teachers need to expand and go beyond the classroom, because what they have is valuable.”
4. Why did Melo buy a bus?
A.To test a risky business. | B.To build a market. |
C.To expand her living space. | D.To continue her career. |
5. How did Melo protect students and herself from COVID-19?
A.By driving the bus along. | B.By reducing learning duration. |
C.By reducing the class size. | D.By teaching in remote surroundings. |
6. How did Brittany Jeltema feel about Melo’s application?
A.Scared. | B.Impressed. | C.Surprised. | D.Curious. |
7. According to Melo, in what way can teachers stop feeling scared?
A.By following their dreams. | B.By beautifying classrooms. |
C.By thinking outside the box. | D.By concentrating on students. |