New Teachers Full Article

What subject do you teach? Why did you choose it?

Sweitzer: I teach math. I choose math because it is a subject that comes easy to me. However sometimes that is a battle because I struggle finding different ways to explain concepts and I need to slow down so my students can grasp the concepts.

Mayer: I teach PE and health. I also coach middle school football as the 7th grade head coach. I will coach middle school track beginning in February. Learning how to be healthy physically, mentally/emotionally, and socially is the most important knowledge that one can attain and apply. That overall health forms the foundation on which students can build the rest of their lives. Coaching football supplies me with the opportunity to guide students toward understanding that hard work pays off, and you can't replace it with shortcuts or just doing what's easiest. I don't think that there is a more important life lesson than the value of hard work. PE, health, and coaching change lives for the better. Also, a lot of times PE and coaching are just downright fun!

Allen: I am the PE teacher. My high school baseball coach was also my high school PE teacher and the influence he had on me made me want to become a coach and follow in his footsteps.

Do you have any previous teaching experience?

Sweitzer: I have taught in Milan for 11 years prior to teaching in Kirksville.

Mayer: I was a substitute for 8 years at Festus and Hillsboro, and a football coach at Festus High School for 4 years. I taught all subjects while subbing, but specialized in 4th-8th grade PE. This is my first full-time teaching job.

Allen:Where did you grow up? Where did you go to high school?

Sweitzer: I grew up in Mexico, Mo and attended Mexico High School.

Mayer: I graduated from Festus High School in 2003.

Allen: I grew up in Kirksville and graduated from Kirksville High School in 2010.

Where did you go to college?

Sweitzer: I earned both my bachelors and masters from Truman.

Mayer: I went to Jefferson College and then Southeast Missouri State where I studied video and film production and graduated with my bachelor's degree in 2008. I went back to school in 2011 at Missouri Baptist University to earn my teaching certification and work on my master's degree.

Allen: I went to Hannibal-LaGrange University.

How do you like KHS so far?

Sweitzer: I really enjoy my colleagues and the insight they give so I can better service the students and I feel like I am becoming part of the family.

Mayer: I love the district so far. The administration and the staff and faculty have treated me with so much respect and kindness as I adjust to living in a new area. I love my 7th grade football players who work as hard as any team that I have ever coached and I can't wait to help them get bigger, stronger, and faster heading into next year and beyond because I think they're going to work themselves into being a great team!

Allen: I love it, my family is from here, so getting to come back and teach I know a lot of the kids and a lot of the families from growing up around here so it’s fun to see them come through here and have an impact on them.

What is your favorite part of teaching? Why did you choose it as a career? Also, what about the day-to-day experience of your job do you enjoy? What are the little things that make you enjoy your job?

Sweitzer: My favorite part about teaching is the "light bulb" moments that students have when they "get it." If at least one student has their moment, then it makes my struggles fade away.

Mayer: My football team this year was unsuccessful during youth football in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, but worked their hardest everyday at practice this year anyway. I believed in them right away and they believed in me. We did win our first game against Moberly, but we had our bumps and bruises and bad games over the course of the next four weeks. However, they never quit and always stayed positive. In our last game of the year at Centralia we finally put it all together and won 38-14. They had never played like that before, and they believe in themselves now. What I am getting at is that I teach/coach in the weight room, gym, and football field because helping students improve at something that they care about is the most rewarding experience that I can imagine.

I started substitute teaching after graduating from SEMO while I was deciding whether or not to move to LA or NY for film school. I started to like teaching immediately because of the positive atmosphere, the unpredictability, the required creativity, and the unique people, both teachers and students, that I met. Eventually, I began coaching 9th grade football at Festus High School in 2012 and I knew for sure at that point that this is what I should be doing.