By Kristin Finney
Greene Publishing, Inc.
Teaching is not a job to be taken lightly. It requires a lot of hard work and dedication. If any teacher personifies those qualities, it is Janine Bertolotti. After applying for the position two years ago, Bertolotti began working at Madison County High School in the Fall of 2010.
Bertolotti received her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. She majored in Psychology, with a double minor in Biology and Neuroscience. She then got her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Central Florida. She is currently working towards her doctorate at the University of Florida.
Previously, she had been employed for three years at a school in Miami. Her husband, Joshua, was then moved to Moody Air Force Base and they had to relocate. Janine chose to apply at Madison so that she could continue working towards her Florida retirement. A position was available in the science department at MCHS, and Bertolotti was hired as a Biology teacher.
As a teacher, her goal is not to become the students friends, but to simply be their teacher. “They know I have high expectations. I have a very disciplined classroom. I provided them with background and assistance. We do a lot of labs. We read a lot of outside articles from reputable science sources. That way, the students are able to see real world applications of what they are learning. We watch videos too, to get conceptual thinking,” she added.
“My goal as a teacher is to increase science literacy and to get them to think critically about what they hear. I also hope to increase interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers.”
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