Meet Our Instructors: Arantza Garcia

Arantza Garcia

Major: Behavioral Biology

What is your favorite lesson you’ve taught?  Why?

As part of the teaching fellowship, we each create and teach our own lesson. I chose to do mine on character and identity. We passed out sheets of construction paper folded to look like poeple, then got to work picking traits for them. Students came up with the most spectacular characters. We had an anime character who was bad at giving advice. A mixed-race athlete whose one goal was to learn to cook. A chip. An angry grandmother. It was exciting to see students breathe life into these blank sheets of paper and collaborate to build off of each other’s ideas.

What’s something you really like about the school where you teach?

 I really like the administration and staff at the school. Even though I’m only there once a week, I’ve felt really welcomed by the people at Furman Templeton. Over the course of the year, teachers have peeked into my classroom to offer support, I’ve had chats with administrative assistants, and received useful advice from coordinators. With anything from classroom management to finding a water fountain closer to the classroom, they were always willing to lend a hand. It’s given a backdrop of community to the challenges and joys of teaching.

What are some things you love?

I love raspberries, warm laundry, cake, lemon squares, parmesan cheese. I love popcorn. I like taking walks with people I care about. I love the color green, reading on the grass, and taking sneaky pictures of my friends.

What is something you taught yourself to do?

I always liked to doodle, but when I was younger I hesitated to draw anything specific or out of my comfort zone. Once I started high school, I became determined to properly learn to draw. Trying to copy everything from famous works of art to billboard advertisements, I’ve been slowly improving ever since.