Even before she was a teacher, Cindy Chejfec was teaching.
“I was doing program development for the Kohl Children’s Museum, The Children’s Museum at Navy Pier, the Field Museum of Natural History and teaching Hebrew on the weekends, all without a teaching degree,” Chejfec said.
But being passionate about teaching, Chejfec returned to school to become a certified teacher. Almost two decades later, she’s doing what she was always meant to do.
We sat down with Chejfec to learn more.
What do you teach and where? I teach seventh and eighth grade Spanish at Granger Middle School in Aurora. I coach the Cricket Club and run the Granger Grizzly Market, which is a pop-up store that sells dog biscuits, twisted pens and ceramic mushrooms. The products are made and sold by the students working on functional life skills and independence from our RISE & AIMS programs (with profits going to Special Olympics).
Number of years teaching: 17 years at Granger, 19 total.
Degrees: I have a bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison, master’s degree from University of Chicago and master’s in teaching from National Louis University.
What was your best subject in school? History. I loved the political and cultural components of civilization.
What was your least favorite subject in school? Calculus. When we started calculating the velocity of rotating spheres in space, I lost it.
What’s the best advice a fellow teacher ever gave you? Making a connection by getting to know a student and creating a positive environment is fundamental to motivating a student to do their best. [It’s important to] create a comfort level where students aren’t afraid to take a risk and fail, tell them we’re here to make mistakes and we will fix things together if they do. Getting an incorrect answer is easy to fix, but if you can teach a student how to regroup after they don’t succeed, you teach them life skills.
Do you have a teacher who inspired you? My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Travers, from Lincoln School in Glen Ellyn.
What have you learned from your students? Middle-schoolers have a lot of hope and want to make a difference in the world. Our district is well-known for inclusion and nothing moves my heart more than watching the general education and special education students working together in class. It restores my faith in humanity. I have also learned that to be a middle school teacher, you need flexibility, a sense of humor and a doctorate degree in hormones.
If you weren’t a teacher, what would you be? A marine biologist.
What do you like to do in your free time? I co-own a business, dcbodybar.com, and am on the dive team for the Shedd Aquarium. I’m one of the talking scuba divers in the Caribbean Reef Habitat exhibit.
Funniest excuse you’ve heard from a student for not completing homework: “My chinchilla ate it.”
What would someone be surprised to learn about you? I produced Luna Carpet commercials for 14 years. I may or may not be responsible for that jingle.
What are you reading now? I just finished “The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives” by Dashka Slater.
Do you have a favorite children’s book? For preschool or early grammar school: “Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People’s Ears: A West African Tale” by Verna Aardema.
Favorite sports team: Wisconsin Badgers! Go Bucky!
Three words that best describe you: Wanderlust, creative and passionate.
Jane Donahue is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
