Putting students first
By Jennifer Colton - Argus Observer
Friday, April 6, 2007 11:43 AM PDT
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| Ontario Middle School social studies teacher Greg Alexander works with students Fani Lopez (front) and Shanti Bahga in the school computer lab on an enrichment activity about the American Revolution. Alexander also participates in a trip to Washington, D.C., for eighth-graders and coaches sixth-grade sports. |
Ontario - Taking a group of 60 eighth-graders to historic sites on the other side of the country sounds like a daunting task, but Ontario Middle School social studies teacher Greg Alexander sees it differently.
For the past 13 years, Alexander has taken a group of students — anywhere from six to 60 — on a trip to Washington D.C., New York City and Colonial Williamsburg, Va. Photos of the trips cover the walls in his classroom — next to posters of athletes, comics and history.
“The first year, a lady called me on the phone and asked if I’d be interested in taking a group to D.C.,” Alexander said. “I thought it was a great idea, and it was a big hit. This was our 13th year. It’s a very education a experience, and a life learning experience.”
Bringing life experiences to students is a recurring theme for Alexander, who served as student council advisor until last year and also leads the sixth-grade sports club, running intermural-style teams for kickball, flag football, basketball and floor hockey.
“There aren’t a lot of things for sixth-graders to do here,” he said. “A normal day is 15 kids. It’s not too hard of a job for me to do by myself. I also keep really busy doing fundraisers for the D.C. trip year-round.”
Alexander grew up in Ontario and then attended both Treasure Valley Community College and Eastern Oregon University to become a teacher — certified to teach either health or social studies.
His decision to become a teacher had many elements, Alexander said.
“Insanity helps,” he said, laughing. “I had some teachers in high school that I loved and respected a lot — coach Dominick and Mr. Feeley for example — and that was mainly why (I became a teacher). I thought that since I had gotten so much, it was a way to give back.”
Family brought Alexander back to Ontario after college, and he began teaching at OMS “the year the Bills and Giants played in the Super Bowl” — 1991 — and has taught social studies in the same classroom ever since. He will probably continue teaching social studies, although he said he is considering applying for a TAG — Talented And Gifted — teaching position, Alexander said.
“After 15 years, every now and then, change is good for people,” he said. “The TAG job might be interesting. Otherwise, I might be here for the full 30 years in this same room.”
Alexander said seeing students smile, the D.C. trip and interacting with young people are favorite parts of teaching but some student interactions also prove to be the most difficult.
“The most challenging thing I think is dealing with students who have challenges with reading,” he said. “From when I started teaching to now, the reading levels of kids have been dropping. It’s hard for them to read a paragraph in a textbook.”
Alexander said in any class students could span from second- to 12th-grade reading levels — and anywhere in between.
“It makes it really challenging,” he said. “Trying to get kids reading levels up is a constant battle. I think that’s a state, nationwide problem.”
In the near future, Alexander said he will continue teaching and watching his two children — sixth-grader Tanner and third-grader Kelsey. Next year, he will also have his son — who is already fundraising for his D.C. trip by selling homemade salsa — for social studies.
“There’s a lot to be said for our school. The quality of yourself is a direct result of the quality of the people around you,” he said. “Anything at all that makes me a good teacher is because I have a good group of teachers around me.”
