As the school year is starting there have been lots of changes around our school with new people entering our community. We interviewed two of these new teachers. Andrew Lanctot is the new fourth-grade teacher. Jonathan Reuel is the new study hall supervisor for high school.
I interviewed the two teachers and this is what they said. When I asked Johnathan about how he expected Bethany to be he said he went to Central Christan so he thought it would be similar to that. Central Christan is a small school like Bethany but is smaller. I asked Andrew Lanctot the same question and he said he expected it to be calm, there to be lots of smiles and all around kids to be excited to see each other.
My next question was “Were you excited about this new position?” Jonathan answered that he was looking forward to doing something new that he had never done before and it would give him a chance to meet students. Andrew said that he was very excited. He didn’t have much to say but I think he said it all in just those two words.
When asked about previous teaching positions Jonathan said he taught junior high art and music one year in Idaho. Andrew has touted for 15 years at Goshen schools. He taught first, fourth, and fifth grade along with teaching other teachers. This seemed strange so as he explained it meant that he would be watching how other teachers watched him teach, and he would do some co-teaching along with watching others teach too. He was there to help give them the best ability to teach.
“What is your favorite thing about being a faculty member here at Bethany?” was my next question. Jonathan said that he really enjoys the food here at Bethany. He has also enjoyed watching how people are excited about different things like our athletics and our different community events. Andrew said he enjoys getting to know students and having a relationship with them. He also values having kids be excited about themselves and their own gifts that they have and can bring to others.
Interviewing the teachers I asked some more “getting to know them” questions. My next one was if they had any fun facts that others may not know about them. Andrew said when he was at Bethany he had to do a senior independent study. They got to choose what to do and he chose to learn tap dancing. They would have to write a paper on their subject and present it. And this is exactly what Andrew did. He gave a presentation on his tap dancing to the school. When asking Jonathan he said at float fest this past summer he was in a boat with a friend and it had singers and instruments.
The Bethany community is very proud of our sports so part of that community I asked them what their favorite sport is to watch. Both answered soccer. Andrew said he likes watching American football, basketball, and tennis. When asked about what sports they would like to watch at the Bethany community they both said soccer. Additionally, Jonathan said volleyball and Andrew answered basketball.
My final question was how they would like their students to remember them. Jonathan said he would like his students to remember him as someone who encourages them to grow. When Andrew answered this question he said as someone who cares and encourages his students to believe in themselves and their gifts.
— Ella McHugh