Bayley Wedel is one of the newer teachers to join the Rockport-Fulton High School staff, and has made an impact on the students since she first started teaching here three years ago. Ms. Wedel currently teaches Honors World Geography and AP World History with a Bachelors in History from Texas State University, and after questioning her it is evident just how passionate she is about the subject.
Digging into her passion, Ms. Wedel had multiple events in history that she deemed as her favorite. “To name a few: the War of the Roses, the Tudor Dynasty, 19th century American pioneers/ Oregon Trail, and WWII- but NOT the military side.” When asked why she specifically stated her disinterest in the military aspect of the second World War, Ms. Wedel simply replied, “I hate military history.”
She has shown what events in history have caught her attention, which allowed for another question: who were the people, the teachers that taught her about such inspiring moments of the past? “One person was my Medieval Western Civilization professor; she was so sweet and brought in artifacts for us to examine. Another was my professor that taught 19th Century European History- she was a super slay feminist.”
Having passion for a subject and stellar professors doesn’t necessarily mean you’re fit to be a teacher, however. Ms. Wedel offered to share her advice for students hoping to become teachers. “Make sure you have a lot of patience, and that you are prepared to be bullied by children,” which, based on how my class was with her, is a piece of golden advice from a teacher that won’t sugarcoat the sometimes draining sides of the career.
The last question from the teacher evaluation could likely be answered based on the previous paragraphs, but is still one of the most interesting questions that you could ask an educator. When Ms. Wedel was asked what inspired her to become a teacher, she had a simple answer: ” I just really love talking about history.” To the point and true to her word, two things that can also be used to describe Ms. Wedel as a teacher and as one of the most down-to-earth educators students will have the chance of meeting.
