Two teacher share ideas for improving student success

As the school’s semester comes to an end, two teachers are sharing their hopes for the future, and how the school can meet the needs of students. 

Jay Teply, a health teacher, said, “I would love to see health become an everyday class for students.  With the importance and the depth of topics discussed, I think students would benefit from more time in the class.”

Teply also shared his thoughts on mental health in school. “I do believe our school has awesome support for students through the counselors and numerous teachers who are willing to have open doors to any students with needs.  One thing I would like to see education do as a whole is lessen the workload of busy work and focus on meaningful assignments and projects performed in the classroom allowing for more time outside of school for students to be active and spend time on self improvement.”

“I think some teachers could be more educated and more aware of students’ stress levels.  Offering quick meditations or breathing exercises before tests or presentations could help calm students and get them to perform at higher levels,” Teply said on how the school could address stress management better.

Monica Jarchow, a Spanish teacher, gave her thoughts on how the school could provide more time for students to practice Spanish outside of school, “Teachers could provide organized speaking activities that students could do outside the classroom. There are platforms such as Flipgrid that would be useful for this practice.  There is not enough time for practice and testing within school hours.  Students will need to be proactive and practice outside of class.”

Jarchow also added the benefits of learning Spanish from more of the school’s resources, “As more and more people in the United States and the world speak Spanish, it would be a great resource for students who go out into the world and work within and outside of the United States. Knowing a second language makes a person more marketable in the global job market.”