Jessamine Griewahn-Okita
Grade 5 Teacher
At WES Since: 2023
What is your favorite quote?
I have two favorites. The first one is “Other people’s success is not your failure.” The other quote I love is from the musical Company by Stephen Sondheim: “Don’t be afraid it won’t be perfect. The only thing to be afraid of really is that it won’t be.” As a lover of all things theatre, I’m always ready with a relevant show tune lyric or quote from a show.
Why did you become a teacher?
When I was in fourth grade, my teacher allowed each of us to teach the class. We were given a grammar topic to teach and time to plan the lesson. We had to present the information to the class and then help students as they completed workbook pages. The day I taught my lesson about proper adjectives was when I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I was always a bookworm who loved learning new things and memorizing facts. Teaching my peers showed me that the real fun was in figuring out how to pass that knowledge on to others.
Bio:
I’m originally from Arlington, VA. I received my undergraduate degree from Smith College, where I double-majored in Education & Child Study and Cognitive Psychology. I also conducted research in a linguistics lab that studied language development in children. After Smith, I attended Harvard Graduate School of Education for my Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education. At both Smith and Harvard, I studied how the brain works and how neuroscience impacts teaching and learning. In 2018, I began my career teaching Grade 4 in Stafford County, Virginia. I then moved back to Cambridge, Massachusetts where I taught a combined Grade 3/4 class. I began teaching Grade 5 when I joined the WES community in 2023. Outside of the classroom, my interests include theatre (especially Broadway), comedy, and dance. I lead the Drama Club for Grades K-8 at WES, as well as the Middle School Creating Connections group on ability and disability. A fun fact about me is that my partner is a proud WES alum. Come visit my classroom anytime to chat or listen to some show tunes!
