Teacher Interview: Mrs. Seals
by Kharis Ott
What do you do when the life you’ve cultivated for fifteen years is taken away from you? That’s the question Mrs. Seals had to answer when the Webb School of Bellbuckle Tennessee cut their budget. Now, after only three months of living in Savannah, she has already cemented herself as a beloved biology teacher, scientist, and pet-mom.
Mrs. Seals, one of SCDS’ newest teachers, studied Marine Biology for years, not originally intending to teach. From taking care of dolphins at Epcot to helping to found Camp Widjiwagan in Tennessee, she had an extensive career before ultimately becoming a teacher. “If you ever see marine mammals with me, I start to cry,” She claimed, explaining just how impactful aquatic life is to her, “[when you’re out on the ocean] you realize just how small we really are and how big the whole planet is.” In fact, Mrs. Seals’ passion for marine biology led her to teaching. “I think my passion for the world just naturally kind of spilled over into biology as a whole,” she continued. While teaching highschoolers about marine life at summer camp, she realized just how much she loved to teach. Now, Mrs. Seals has been teaching for thirty years.
Though marine biology introduced her to the possibility of being an educator, Mrs. Seals truly teaches for two main reasons. Firstly, her religious faith. “I believe God made me to be a teacher,” she asserted. All throughout her life she had been drawn to tutoring and education, helping people learn since she was in high school; however, she never understood why until later. Secondly, her faith in the next generation. Mrs. Seals is adamant that our generation is both valuable to the future and valuable as people right now. She is extremely motivated by her love for students, helping their light shine and their self-confidence flourish. “I enjoy watching you find you,” she explained. “If you find out that you’re intelligent and valuable and important and capable because of something you’ve accomplished in my classroom then, man, I’ve done something good… It feeds my soul to watch you guys grow and be.”
Moving from Webb to SCDS was a jarring change, not only because of distance. At Webb, one third of the student body were boarding students. Mrs. Seals explained, “It felt a little more family-like because literally you walked outside and it was somebody’s home.” Also, she and her husband made the decision to sell his childhood home. Even after leaving Tennessee (where she lived for 28 years) behind, Mrs. Seals was excited to teach at country day. “I really felt like I could fit in this community,” she said, “I love the history that is SCDS.” After being referred by a coworker who used to know Mrs. Beauchamp and Mr. Eswine, seeing the position available online, and having a job placement agency reach out to her about this school, she figured all signs were pointing to one place. Plus, her husband wanted to be closer to the water!
Mrs. Seals teaches with refreshing authenticity. Even in lectures, you can tell that she cares deeply not just about the material but also about her students. She claims the biggest thing she’s learned after thirty years is “to not take myself too seriously in the classroom.” Mrs. Seals elaborated, “confrontation with children is not beneficial for anyone. I don’t know everything… Students can be right.” Ultimately, her goal is to foster an environment where students feel safe, heard, and valued. “If you feel like you’re in a partnership with me to learn… you’re gonna be more comfortable asking questions, making mistakes. Scientists make a lot of mistakes before we get it right,” she claimed.
When Mrs. Seals got her own classroom 15 years ago, she decided to get a class pet. Hence, Milo the Abyssinian guinea pig got a comfy new home. He was great with the kids, but there was one major issue: guinea pigs need companionship. Mrs. Seals purchased a friend for Milo, Otis, and isolated him for two weeks to ensure he didn’t have any infections. Turns out, Otis had ring worm. Also, Otis was not a boy. Unable to keep Otis and Milo together, Mrs. Seals took Otis in and renamed her Peanut. However, this creates a new problem: now Peanut needs a friend. Fast forward and Mrs. Seals' classroom and home are populated with guinea pigs galore. During covid, she had seven guinea pigs living in her house! Currently, she has three social rodents, and they’re being looked after by one of her former students until she can take them down to Savannah.
If Mrs. Seals could tell her high-school self anything, she would say “Don’t give up.” High school is often described as the best part of your life, but Mrs. Seals adamantly disagrees. “If we peak at 18 and it’s all downhill from there, then what’s the point?” She continues, "There's so much better ahead. So many things that you never imagined you would be doing. So many dreams and goals… and they change, and it’s good. Life is good. It’s not perfect, it has hard days, but just keep going.” Ultimately, that is Mrs. Seals’ strength: reminding all of her students about the sheer magnificence of life, in class or otherwise. From leaving behind her former home to dedicating her life to education, her passion, her faith, and her perseverance are evident in every facet of her life. Truly, SCDS is lucky to welcome Mrs. Seals into our community.
