Julia Dodd joined Darlington's Upper School science department in 1998. She teaches AP chemistry and organic chemistry, and serves as advisor for the Honor Council and Science Club. She holds a B.S. from the University of Georgia and an M.Ed. from North Georgia College. Mrs. Dodd was one of the inaugural recipients of the Wood Faculty Professional Development Endowment Award in 2011.
How long have you been teaching at Darlington?
This is my 17th year. I’ve been teaching for 33 years. I taught in public school for 17 years and here 17 years.
So what is the difference between public school and here?
Well, the classes are smaller here, the average Darlington students are brighter, but the smartest Darlington student are the same as the smartest public students. You have more resources here and go to school with different students.
Having taught at Darlington for many years, you must have seen how Darlington School has grown. How do you feel about the changes?
Some things are good. I like the class schedule; we have longer periods.
Like Week A and Week B?
You know, my AP classes are double periods but my organic chemistry class and chemistry are always single classes so we might have lab that we have to do more than one day. So we could use block days. And the e-text books: I know some students complain about it but that’s something you need to deal with because in college in science it is kind of difficult because you have the bookmarks on the pages, and you have to go back to them and answer the questions in different pages and that gets a little frustrating. So sometimes I give my student activity tables.
When I came here, we had international students that were mostly European and Korean, and now we have lots of Chinese students and lots of students from Africa. Some of the students here travel a lot but some do not, so having folks coming here increases perspectives, and I like it. When you go to college you will find that there are people that are very bright but never have that perspective. It gives you a global view.
What’s the most impressive thing in your Darlington life?
I think the most impressive thing is building the campus and being able to do that. Unlike public schools that have taxes, Darlington has to raise money.
And what’s the most fun thing that has happened to you recently?
Well I have fun teaching. So that’s cool to me. It’s always fun watching students do RUMPUS and the international fair. I like the performances of the Fine Arts department. One thing Darlington does very well is they give students opportunities to attain leadership positions. You know most high schools have positions for sports team or for clubs, but at Darlington, we have places in the dorms and other organizations.
At Darlington, I really appreciate that every teacher devotes a lot in their classes and have profound passion in it. How do you keep such strong passion though every year teaching the same things?
Well I love teaching and really enjoy it. When I was not working here my friend told me that I would love teaching at Darlington because teachers here can teach. And she was exactly right. In public schools teachers are restricted by several regulations and sometimes they just cancel your class. You need to teach to meet state requirements. But at Darlington I can teach in my way and teach what I want to teach. Chemistry is not always interesting but I try to make it more interesting and then lead students to go deeper and harder.
How did you get interested in chemistry?
I started getting interested in chemistry when I was in seventh grade. We did lab in the dining hall and it was really fun. When I was in twelfth grade my AP chemistry teacher was fantastic, and then I loved chemistry and decided to major in chemistry.
Would you give any suggestions to students who want to study science?
Learn what you love and don’t be afraid of it. Some students drop the class because they might not have enough time or do not get a high A, but they could have done well.
