2022-2023 Teaching Reflection

I finished my second year as a high school history teacher a few weeks ago - it was a BLAST! This past year I stretched my wings and taught both the Advanced Placement United States History and the standard ("on-level") U.S. History classes. Since there are many different types of students and learning abilities in both sections, I approached each history class a little differently, carefully blending direct instruction with independent learning and small group discussions to ensure each student mastered the content and became passionate about social studies. I was incredibly proud of each of my students, who appeared to sincerely enjoy my lessons and the many individual/group assignments I created for them. Despite the many late nights I had planning activities and the many early morning/late afternoon tutoring sessions I offered, the positives from teaching both U.S. History sections outweighed the negatives - I enjoyed the challenges! My students excelled on the state U.S. History STAAR exam; 99% met expectations while 61% mastered expectations (compared with the 39% state average). Besides state exam results, it appeared from my End-Of-Course evaluations that a majority of my students walked away from my U.S. History classes smiling, having developed skills that they will continue to use for a lifetime and acquired knowledge and personal courage to positively change their community. Additionally, all my students know that they have a teacher who will consistently encourage them to do their best in academics and extra-curriculars and support them in their final months of high school and beyond. Again, I might sound like a broken record... yet I am beyond blessed to have a fantastic job and to be assisted by a network of caring administrators and veteran educators. I am looking forward to another exciting challenge in next years schedule, picking up the IB History of the Americas 1 course! Below I have attached some photographs from the year as well as my  class/teacher reviews.

APUSH 5th Period, 2022-2023 - despite being the early morning class on B-Days, these students were always energetic and engaged in dynamic class discussions on historical myths, presidents, and the Gilded Age! I'm going to miss them. Author's Collections.

Selected End-Of-Course Evaluations

"I feel like all history teachers are fun and are good at explaining history to students, but Mr.Chanin did more than that and he was very interactive with each student, making sure we understood anything. Mr.Chanin is a real one.”

"The way Mr. Chanin taught and was involved with the class in order to get the information to them was really good. His positive energy helped get the class involved with learning and actually wanting to learn. Just keep doing what you’re doing Mr. Chanin, you’re a great teacher :D”

“Yes, Mr. Chanin worded things that helped us understand every perspective and aspect of the lesson we were on. He’s amazing! He’s very lenient and understanding and he genuinely cares about his students futures and even personal health.”

“Yes, Mr. Chanin’s teaching style is the best out of any History teachers. Most History teachers just give you all the slides to write down your own notes. He actually goes through the slides and points out any information to write down.”

"I liked Mr. Chanin’s lectures because of the way he kept the class engaged using humor and having class discussions.”

“I really liked your interactive lectures in class. You really made me love history because unlike most other teachers, you stood up and told us history as an interesting and relevant story, and made us understand its importance. Thank you so much for doing this! Yes! As mentioned above, your lectures and interactive lesson really made me interested in history and made me want to learn more. Keep doing what you’re doing… you’re truly an inspiration to me!”

“My favorite part of the APUSH class was how the class felt welcoming. Although I was intimidated by the difficulty of the class, I felt like I could walk into the class without constant stress/pressure. The classroom environment is lively which also contributes to why I like this class. Not really, I enjoyed this class a bunch even though it was challenging at times! Mr. Chanin made class discussions interesting and captivated my attention. Rather than reading straight off the slideshow, he would make it engaging by asking the class and by telling personal stories.”

“My favorite part of the APUSH class was definitely Mr. Chanin! I don't think that I would have enjoyed this class or looked forward to coming here everyday if I did not have you as my teacher… no not really :D I really enjoyed your interactive lectures and method of explanation and I could not have asked for a better APUSH teacher.”

I am photographed with two of my favorite APUSH students, Shereef and Priyanka. These two worked extremely hard in my class and always knew how to put a bright smile on my face. I was honored to "pin" them at the annual senior pinning ceremony in May (where I was also selected to be a faculty speaker). I'm going to miss their cheeriness! Shereef will be attending the University of Texas at Dallas in the fall, while Priyanka will be attending American University in D.C. I wish them both the best of luck in college! Author's Collections.

I am photographed with my APUSH partner and legendary educator Diane de Waal - she was a fantastic mentor and soundboard to me as I navigated both APUSH and standard U.S. History classes this past year. I am going to miss her next year when she moves to another campus, but I intend to continue to spread some exuberant "de Waal" energy in social studies dept. meetings! Author's Collections.