As North welcomes 11 new faculty members, they start to embrace the Knight community within their classrooms. The staff range from those who are beginning to teach to those who are transferring from neighboring schools.
Social Studies Department Chair Adrijana Bisevac comes from related school Grayslake Central to North as an APUSH teacher, and onto her 13th year in teaching. Though her subject focuses on critical events that shape our society, she sees that the value in history is something else.
“History allows students to learn valuable skills when analyzing the world around them in which they live in. They become better informed citizens who can think critically,” Bisevac said. “Students can then have the ability to evaluate sources and support their opinions with facts.”
Bisevac sees the thrill of teaching being the unexpected. Every lesson can be planned out, but the interest and reaction are unpredictable.
“I could plan out a lesson and I may think I know what the students will take out of it, but they might surprise me. Suddenly we’re talking about something small for the rest of class but as teachers, we need to adapt and keep up,” Bisevac said.
James Kelly comes from Lakes Community High School, and he is in his tenth year of teaching mathematics. Kelly utilizes his classroom not only to teach algebraic concepts but to teach students how to work as a team.
“One of my biggest themes this year is that we are one team and we’re all in this together. We can steer toward success together. I think having students learn and apply teamwork skills will benefit them in the real world,” Kelly said.
Kelly teaches AAT honors and algebra, and he is mostly with underclassmen and juniors. He believes that math can teach more than just the Pythagorean theorem.
“Math teaches students how to problem solve. Even when you may have limited information, there is a solution. It’s also possible that there’s more than one route to the right answer,” Kelly said.
Kelly anticipates being an active member of the Knight family, and he looks forward to attending annual dances, football games, and spectating competitions.
Marcia Meyer transferred from Carmel Catholic High School, and she is now a freshman co-taught English and AP Literature teacher. The transition has been smooth but presents struggles.
“At Carmel, we had a block schedule. We had 75 minute periods and only a couple periods a day,” Meyer said. “It was an adjustment to be able to have the same classes every day and in a shorter amount of time.”
Meyer believes that studying literature is more than just analyzing literary devices but being able to connect with others.
“I find it so interesting to see how students think. Two people can read the same poem and can still notice and interpret differently,” Meyer said. “We all bring a different perspective, and it’s critical that we create meaning.”
One of her most memorable teaching moments was teaching about news controlling the narratives.
“It was a class of mostly senior boys, and it was after the boy and the Native American man had that standoff that was being reported everywhere. At first, they were bashing one side, but soon after more information was released, they began to question their initial thoughts,” Meyer said. “I had this rush where I thought, ‘This is it’, because I knew that they were opening their eyes.”