Teacher Highlight: Mr. Jason Thomas
 | Author:
Mikayla Kraft, School Correspondent
MT43 News School Correspondent |
Teacher Highlight: Mr. Jason Thomas
Mikayla Kraft
School Correspondent
This school year marks a start for new opportunities for a multitude of students in Townsend Public Schools. In the high school, we have gained a few new teachers. One is Mr. Robischon’s replacement, Mr. Thomas, who is originally from Chicago, Illinois. Students were skeptical at the start of the school year knowing that nobody could ever be as impactful as Mr. Robischon. However, students were surprised to recognize that Mr. Thomas may have nearly the same impact as Mr. Robischon has had during all his years of teaching.
Though Mr. Thomas is currently a biology teacher, it hasn’t always been this way. For nine years, he worked as a field biologist. During his time as a biologist, he mainly studied birds, and plants, and occasionally studied marine wildlife. Through this career, Mr. Thomas surveyed and monitored many of the species and eventually had the opportunity to become a bird bander and work with several endangered species. Recently, he has “been fortunate to explore cellular and molecular biology. [He has] been able to spend time in a genetics lab and cancer research lab over a few summers at the University of Arizona and [he is] very excited to bring some of that experience into [the] classes.” Since Mr. Thomas transitioned to educating 8 years ago, he has found so much excitement in the classroom.
As of the moment, Mr. Thomas hasn’t made many significant changes to the biology department and has even worked with Mr. Robischon in setting a secure curriculum for all of the biology students. In future years, he is excited to push for opportunities for his upper-class students to study more about genetics and biotechnology. Mr. Thomas takes pride in applying classroom learning to the field and is looking forward to possibly starting a few long-term studies in these areas.
Mr. Thomas has loved spending his time in Montana and in the Townsend community. When asked what he is inspired by and his thoughts on this community he answered that “folks here are so friendly and seem to generally care…” He additionally encourages students and parents to get involved in biological sciences, “[they] are really about exploring the world that surrounds us and the world that exists inside us. From the micro to the macroscopic, there is endless complexity to explore and be astounded by. The scope of our classes is so broad that you are bound to find something of interest. We are trying to cultivate a sense of wonder and discovery as we study the structures and processes that shape the world around us.”
Through the short amount of time that I have had the opportunity to learn from Mr. Thomas through Anatomy and Physiology, I have personally seen his love for biological sciences. Mr. Thomas strives to make the classroom a hands-on and exciting learning experience and each day is filled with laughs, smiles, new discoveries, and even life lessons. I assure you, your children are in good hands learning from a new and exciting perspective such as Mr. Thomas’s.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Mikayla Kraft
Image 1 Caption: Jason Thomas out in the field at Glacier National Park
Photo Credits: Mikayla Kraft
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