New Staff Entering Palisade high school

Palisade has a variety of new teachers that have entered our Palisade High School family. Focusing on the history department, we only have two new teachers brave enough to teach here at Palisade. These two new teachers are Mr. Wyant and Ms. Burbach. Although, Mr. Wyant has been well known since last year he was a student teacher for Mrs. Rush and many others. He started officially teaching in place of Mr. Harrington sometime in the middle of the school year. 

When teachers are just starting in a new school, they often face challenges such as learning how to communicate with students and staff, familiarizing themselves with the new school's regulations, and adapting to the school's culture. They also begin to experience differences from when they may have student taught or taught in another school. While in an interview with Mrs. Burbach, she stated, “Teaching here at Palisade has definitely been a change in environment because teaching at a school where there are over 1,000 students is different from teaching at a school in Wisconsin where there were 60 students, so it is a lot bigger than what I am used to. I also love the classes I teach although I only teach two subjects, which is not what I’m used to because I’ve taught everything under the sun when it comes to social studies.” When asked if she could change anything about teaching here she said, “The only thing that I would change, although I can’t, is that I just miss my old students and wish I could bring them here.” Adding on to what Ms. Burbach said, Mr. Wyant said, “One of the biggest things we have going for us is that we have a very supportive staff, and that makes you feel not as isolated as you could be at different schools. I also think that we do a good job at balancing out the classes like how the new teacher won’t get all the freshmen. Another good thing is the kids here, I’ve gotten to have a relationship with a lot of them and get to know them. And even though I started student teaching here last year, it didn’t feel legit until now. It’s cool teaching here” 

Teachers should take the time to learn about the school's culture and embrace it in their teaching. By doing these things, teachers can quickly become a part of the school's community and make a positive impact on the students.