Our teachers are "deeply invested"

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At our back-to-school meetings, the new teachers had the opportunity to hear English teacher George McKee speak. Mr. McKee shared advice with the teachers, and none of his advice stood out more to me than his assertion that "it is insulting to [his] students, if [he] is not deeply invested in the subject [he] is teaching. And while Mr. McKee was speaking only of his own personal philosophy, the first two weeks of school have taught me that this is a philosophy the permeates the culture at Borgia High School.

To illustrate my point, I would like to share some of the great things I have seen in our first two weeks of classes:

*Mr. Unnerstall had students create "cave paintings" on Notability as they explored early forms of communication.

*In Spanish, Mr. Thompson had the students working on "Padre Nuestro," allowing them to practice their faith in Spanish.

*Ms. Parsell had the students create maps to their homes in an effort to show how much more world there was around them to explore.

*A student favorite seemed to be Mr. Stevison's lesson on non-verbal communication, its presence in our lives, and its presence in the Bible.

*Mr. Halaz used a shocking You Tube video to show students how others can react when overwhelmed with bullying; he then went on to discuss rules, and why they exist.

*My personal favorite may have been in Child Development, where Mrs. Kenny asked me to share my thoughts on being present for the births of my children. She is always looking for ways to make her content more memorable.

...and perhaps "making content more memorable" is an extension of Mr. McKee's philosophy. It is clear that our teachers put additional time and effort into making experiences memorable for our students. I'm proud to be part of this this environment.

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