What Makes Sadilek GladilekBy Mr. Kirkton 11/27/20171. What made you want to become a teacher or focus specifically in History.
There are several members of my family that are history buffs so I was exposed to a love of history at an early age. I decided that I wanted to be a history teacher after my junior year of high school. My US History teacher was Mr. Milano and he was always so excited to teach about our country; you could tell he really loved the story of the United States. It awakened a sense of patriotism in me and inspired me to teach. 2. If you could move to any part of the world, where would you choose and why? I would love to move to Europe and write a travel blog about the well-known and lesser-known historical sites people can visit. I fell in love with England on a study abroad trip in college, so London would be my home base. 3. What is your favorite movie? There are several movies that I will watch if I ever see them on TV: Mean Girls, A League of Their Own, Bridesmaids, Elf, A Muppet Christmas Carol, and Titanic. 4.What is a book that you plan on reading? I have had The Kite Runner in my "to read" stack for far too long, I need to make the time to read it! 5. What is your favorite band or genre of music? My favorite genres are country, alternative, and pop, but I listen to just about everything. Favorites artists that turn up in playlists more often than not would include Tim McGraw and The Avett Brothers. 6. If you could get another tattoo, what would you get/why? I actually plan to get a tattoo of both my kid's feet (from their birth certificates) on my back over the summer. I plan to have the feet on the opposite sides (right foot on left side) so that they look like wings. My kids drive me crazy sometimes, but they are my angels. 7. What is the best gift you have ever received? My current APUSH class named a star after my brother who passed away a couple months ago. It was the most thoughtful and unexpected gift I have ever received and I felt so loved and supported by those students. 8. Is there any 'weird' facts or things about you that we could include in the article? I have a guilty obsession with reality TV. I love watching all of the Real Housewives franchises as well as competition shows like The Great British Baking Show, Survivor, and Big Brother |
Guiding the Hornets: An Interview with Ms. StantonBy: Mr. kirkton 11/17/20171. How did you decide on being a guidance counselor?
I always knew I wanted to be in a helping profession. By high school, I figured out I'd rather do that through talking than by medicine. Also, I loved parts of my dad's job as a psychologist and my mom's job as a teacher, and I pictured myself helping kids in a school setting. 2. What education is necessary to be a counselor and where did you go to school? A Master's degree in Counseling is required. I earned my MA from Bradley University; by doing their three year program instead of two at a different university, I came away with the licenses to work directly in mental health (I was a family therapist prior to this job) and to work in a school. I majored in Psychology and Education at Beloit College. A thorough understanding of both psychology and sociology are advantageous to school counseling (though honestly many parts of a typical school counselor's job would be addressed in Public Relations, Communications, Event Planning, and Data Analysis). While I'm appreciative that there's no longer a law requiring school counselors to teach beforehand, I did learn many valuable things from substitute teaching. 3. What are some little known facts about you? -My two favorite bands are Metallica and the Beatles -I saw Metallica in concert my senior year of high school and again this summer -I was in a sorority, Mortar Board (like college National Honor Society), International Club, and Black Students United in college. I actually lived in BSU housing. -I love sports. I was a tomboy as a kid though I only played tennis in high school. I didn't miss a home football game all of college. -I was an "overacheiver" in high school. Of all the activities I did, Scholastic Bowl was the most fun. -I will always choose a 90s Adam Sandler movie marathon over a Hallmark movie marathon -I'm the shortest person in my family -One thing that makes me really happy is seeing others be happy being themselves: I loved the acceptance at Beloit and seeing what people were like when they weren't afraid to show their true selves. 4. If you could have 1 super power, what would it be and why? I would choose teleportation so travel time would never be an issue. Completely unoriginal, I know. 5. If you could travel or live anywhere in the world, where would you go? Tokyo, Japan is at the top of my list for places to visit because my best friend from college lives there. I wasn't able to afford to fly out for her wedding a few years ago, but the goal is to go during the 2020 Olympics. She has sent me a lot of really neat stuff over the years. 6. Favorites time: Favorite food, favorite movie, favorite color, favorite season. -Food: Pizza. Dessert: Coldstone's Birthday Cake Remix -Movie: Blues Brothers -Color: Blue -Season: Fall 7. Cats or dogs? Why? I'm a fan of both, but I'm going with dogs because you can train them while cats train you. |
Embarking in my third year teaching at Heyworth High School, I have had the opportunity to teach several different courses. These have included English III-American Literature, Accelerated English III, and English IV. For the first time this fall, as an English Department, we decided to open up the possibilities with some added elective classes. My addition is Creative Writing, and it is in this class that I am able to help produce The Swarm.
With this new platform, we are able to allow students to create and expand past the typical 5 paragraph essay that they are so accustomed to with writing in school. So far this year, we wrote some non-fiction short stories, fictional short stories, sonnets, free verse poetry, slam poetry, horror stories, and now we each have a section on the digital newspaper that we are responsible for. These opportunities were really exciting because I found myself going back to my creative writing roots that I established during my time at Illinois State University. Just like all the students in the Creative Writing course, I too seem to keep going back to my past to draw on inspiration. The fact that we all have unique and interesting lives helps to give us the variety that makes life interesting. It is what makes stories surprising, exciting, or comical. So as a writer and a teacher, I say, keep being you, keep being weird, and keep being unique. It will make a great story later on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Below, the Creative Writing Class has linked a few documents that they feel proud of and would like to show off/demonstrate what they have done this semester.