Teachers. The people behind our life education. They are the people who give us the information to make sure we grow up to be adequately educated people.
However, due to their job, we often forget they’re people, too. Not that we don’t recognize they have emotion and life outside of school. But we don’t recognize that they have opinions and creativity to spread out amongst the crowd along with us. So I decided to interview a few teachers. I asked them about one of the biggest things to do with their careers: what they want to teach in the classroom.
I sent questions to at least one person in each department. I was given a response from six departments. One of the ideas I received from the English department was a Community Outreach Project Based Learning class.
“I would love to see a class where the students interact with villagers, maybe community-service oriented, maybe oral history,” said Jenny Ludeman. “We have such a tiny community, I think it would be interesting, doable, and meaningful.” For Ludeman, I see not just someone who is interested in teaching students the importance of literature but also someone who is inspired by her community and willing to help it however she can.
One of our newest teachers is Roger Ian Zertler, who said that Entrepreneurship is something he would like to teach.
“This course would address how starting a business is more than just having a good idea,” Zertler said. “Successful entrepreneurs know how to use and apply fundamental business concepts to turn their ideas into thriving businesses. [We could] explore topics such as identifying the best business structure, business functions and operations, finance, business laws, regulations, and more. This class is for those who have ever dreamed of making a business idea a reality, taking the time to establish a solid foundation of business skills to make their business dream come true.”
Zertler may be the new guy, but his response says to me that he’s a man who’s not only big on ideas but big on making those ideas a reality, even for his students.
Kevin Vander Laan from the Phy Ed department gave me not just one, not just two, but six classes altogether:
- Data Science: Analyzing large datasets using programming languages like Python and R to extract insights.
- Web Development: Building interactive websites using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Mobile App Development: Creating applications for smartphones using platforms like Android or iOS.
- Database Management: Learning how to design, manage, and query databases using SQL.
- Algorithm Design: Studying how to design efficient algorithms to solve computational problems.
- Cybersecurity: Understanding network security, encryption, and protecting systems from cyber threats.
Mr. Vander Laan might teach students about health and how to play sports, but he is a man who is absolutely fascinated by the digital/tech world. He wants to make sure students can navigate through jobs that work with digital technology safely and effectively. This is a man who wants people to stay safe, no matter the situation.
To show a bit more of the personalities of our teachers, I asked them this question: If you could teach a class in any department, what would you choose? For Lanae Flugaur, the answer was easy.
“Food Classes, and my favorite is always Food Culture,” Flugaur said.
“I would enjoy teaching a wood shop class or possibly a US History class,” said math teacher Shaun Anderson.
“Foods!” said Steven Swan of the science department.
All of these answers are personal and interesting additions to understanding their personalities. Teachers have personality, whether in school or not. As students, we should stop looking at teachers as just teachers. I know my classmates see teachers as people, but sometimes that fact falls out of their heads. Teachers have great ideas and things that interest them. They can like what they teach, but they can also like things outside of their department. And they can even make classes that can cater to a wide array of student interest.
