Leonardo Flores: What is your name and what grade do you teach
AM: Ms. Amanda Meisel and I teach 10th- 12th graders
LF: What social studies classes do you teach
AM: I teach United States History and Holocaust History Honors
LF:Why did you decide to teach social studies
AM:I decided to teach social studies because I have a love for history. I have had several family members who served our country and grew up listening to their stories of their service. Great Uncles who served in WWII (one was part of the Normandy invasion and another was captured by the Japanese in WWII) and my Grandfather who served in Korea.
LF:How have you worked with students who perform below grade level?
AM: I try to make sure I take the time to understand their learning style and the adaptations needed for them to be successful. I work along with the support staff to make the adjustments necessary to my lessons and I offer grace where it is needed. If we all communicate and work together we can help that student be successful.
LF:What techniques do you use to keep students actively involved and motivated during a lesson?
AM: try to find ways to help my students remember the important details and tie the past into recent events to better my students understanding
LF:What was your greatest challenge in student teaching? How did you resolve it?
AM:
Student teaching was definitely an eye opener. I think the greatest challenge I faced was learning how to adapt a lesson to meet the needs of different classes and individuals. How I teach a lesson to my first period may be totally different from how I teach it to my seventh period. I learned to resolve this by getting to know my students so that I can make the changes necessary from class to class and student to student
LF:Describe the process you would use in responding to a student who was disrupting the class
AM: This again comes down to getting to know your students. The better a teacher knows their students, the better they can react to these situations. In most cases the disruptive behavior has another underlying cause. I always try to talk privately to a student who is acting out in class to see why their behavior has changed in hopes we can resolve the issue quickly. If the behavior persists then they may have to be removed from the class for the day and I will make a phone call home and discuss the matter with the student’s guardians
LF:What would you do if a student refused to do the work you assigned?
AM: I again try to talk with the student privately and remind them of the importance of completing their work. If the behavior persists I will call home to speak with the guardian and discuss what we can do to motivate the student. At the end of the day the last thing I want is a student failing.
“Don’t be afraid to stand up for others who can’t on their own,” Amanda Meisel said.
Impressions 