Business teacher Chastity Lynch grew up in Allen, and later worked for Ericsson Telecom, utilizing her skills in business, communications and technology. Lynch lives with her family in Lucas and has three children in the district. Lynch shares the same principals of application with her students, working in the district.
At a glance:
Classes: BIM 1, BIM 2, Career Prep.
Years working in the district: eight years
Looking Deeper:
The Red Ledger: What is your education background and work experience?
Chastity Lynch: I graduated from Allen and then I went to Austin College. I was then recruited to work at Ericsson Telecom. When I got there I realized that it was a shock and I wasn’t so prepared for the real world. I knew at that point that I wanted to do something that kind of linked the real world application to kids and students.
TRL: What is your intention for teaching students?
CL: I really wanted to make sure kids were prepared for what I saw to be kind of a shocking experience with just practical things like resume building and job applications, and Microsoft office.
TRL: What brought you into teaching this subject?
CL: Probably that real world application piece. I realized that if I really want to make a difference and make a difference with kids and help them move forward in their lives, whether that be for college, work studies or trade, they need to have those types of application pieces.
TRL: How would you describe your teaching style?
CL: When I first started I was probably a bit more strict, but now I have kids and I feel like over the years the “open door” policy and trusting kids and treating them with that respect that I ask. There are a lot of life lessons we learn in Highschool. There’s that independence we all crave but also learning how to handle that independence. I really try to work alongside my students.
TRL: Can you describe the investment games you play with your students?
CL: In all my classes, we use MarketWatch, which is a simulation with investing. Basically, we are creating a game in that classroom, and each student is allotted so much money. It’s a virtual pretend type game, but they take that money and invest. I feel that a lot of that is important for real life applications because I think sometimes we don’t see how some things around us really affect our economy and what jobs we pursue and what kind of person we really enjoy being and what we want to do when we go to college.
TRL: How do students respond to these games?
CL: For the most part I have noticed that some of them get a little overwhelmed, some of them want an explanation, and some of them start asking a lot deeper questions that they really never thought they would be asking. It really allows them to kind of explore something that they may not see. I think [the game] allows them to take that risk without worrying about not being successful but then they learn so much in that process. It became way more of a real world application piece then they really ever thought. I think they enjoy it for the most part.
TRL: What do you enjoy about teaching this subject?
CL: The biggest thing is that real world application piece and in here there is just so much diversity that you can offer students.
TRL: Is there anything else you would like to share about your teaching technique, students, or any business skills?
CL: Follow your heart, I always tell students to make a difference and be a productive person in society whatever that is. Whether that’s helping someone, or learning from your own mistakes. Keep your door open and treat others the way you want to be treated, a lot of their basics, but find a passion and ask questions and don‘t be afraid to fail. Learn from that failure and be better for it.
