From Turtles to Teaching

Eighth-grade science and social studies teacher Chris Farnsworth has a lot of real-life experience that he is able to share with his students.

Chris was born and raised in the Maplewood section of Malden, and graduated from Malden Catholic High School. He then went on to earn a bachelor of science degree in zoology from the University of Rhode Island.

While working on his degree, he was able to apply his science classes to real life experience while researching sea turtles along the barrier islands. He worked on Jekyl Island, Ossabaw Island and Little Cumberland Island, tagging nesting turtles, building hatcheries and transferring nests to the hatcheries.

These summer jobs led to work on “hopper dredges” as a biological observer, where he recorded sea turtle mortality associated with dredging during their nesting season. He also attended a Sea Turtle Conference in Brunswick, Ga. as part of a school trip where he was one of Dr. Shoop’s “Sea Turtle Kids.” Compelled to teach all that he had learned, Farnsworth went on to attain a master’s degree in education from Cambridge College.

 

If you weren’t a teacher, what other profession could you see yourself doing?

If I were not a teacher I would love to be a science journalist or a reporter. Using the careers of David Quammen and Carl Zimmer as my inspiration, the idea of visiting scientists in the field or in the lab and interviewing them about their research and then weaving that information into exciting narratives, for some reason, really appeals to me.

 

Is there someone who inspired you to teach?

My cousin Paul Abare was my first inspiration to teach. He showed me what a powerful effect teaching can have on others. Mr. Brendan Duffy, the assistant principal at Malden High, was very instrumental in me getting my foot in the door to education. And I was very lucky to teach with Jim Pinkman and Charlotte Sousa when I began my career in Winthrop. I was on a team with them for a good 12-15 years, and they helped me grow and improve, and they always led by example and never judged.

 

Do your students inspire you?

My students inspire me frequently. Whether it’s an “I get it!” moment, or when they want to borrow my science books to read at home, or they email me a link to an awesome video they saw online. I’ve had former students recite the equation for cellular respiration to me in a department store. I’ve had students thank me for teaching them about certain illnesses because it has drawn them closer to family members suffering from the same illness. I have several former students, who teach now, which I always say is the highest compliment. Living in the town that I teach in, I am constantly bumping into former students and parents and being reminded that the time spent in the presence of these kids is special and rewarding in so many ways and should never be taken for granted.