Wesbecher And Briver

This paper will illustrate the lives of two high school teachers, Mrs. Natalie Wesbecher and Mr. Matthew Biver. Both teachers have obtained their Masters Degrees from prestigious universities, and proudly take the role of teachers and mentors at Freeburg Community High School in Freeburg, Illinois. Within this paper, I will discuss their daily interactions with stress and how they apply stress management strategies and techniques within the classroom, as well as how they influence the lives of many students on a daily basis.

Mrs. Natalie Wesbecher is currently in her 24th year of teaching. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1994. This same year, she acquired her first teaching job

at Steeleville High School in Steeleville, Illinois. She taught here until 2003, when she graduated with her Master of Arts with a Specialization in the Teaching of Writing from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In 2003, she moved her teaching to Freeburg Community High School and has been teaching a variety of students up to the present. In addition to her Bachelor and Master degrees, she was also certified as an Educational Specialist in Administration in 2013.
Evidently, Mrs.

Wesbecher obtains the credentials to qualify for an interview involving stress management. Not only was it stressful for her to attend these universities to acquire these degrees, but her work environment can be stressful and challenging, as well. Her clients include senior high school students. She has taught students in all high school grade levels, but has been permanently dedicated to seniors for quite some time. The population of Freeburg Community High School includes four surrounding communities of varying socioeconomic levels; Mrs. Wesbecher, being a principle teacher for seniors, works with a sizeable amount of this diverse

population.
One of the many challenges she faces daily is how to appropriately interact with such an array of students. A typical day for Mrs. Wesbecher consists of seven class periods. In total, she works with between 140 and 150 unique students. Out of these seven class periods, she actively teaches during six of them and takes one period as her plan period, in which she takes the time to catch up on grading, lesson plans, or whatever else needs to be done during this time. With her six teaching periods, she splits them between three sections of English IV and three sections of College English. Students wishing to get ahead in their studies can take this course as a duel credit enrollment course with St. Louis University. Students can interact with her during their class period, but they can also reach out to her with an anxious hand regarding anything from the material covered in class to letters of recommendation during her plan period.
Inevitable, a teaching job comes with many challenges and obstacles. At times, it can be stressful and overwhelming. As a high school teacher, she carries many duties and responsibilities. She serves as much more than just an English teacher; she is also seen as a friend for those who need one. Mrs. Wesbecher has a goofy, fun-loving personality. This makes her very easy to communicate with and be comfortable around, in and out of the classroom setting. She unofficially serves as a counselor and supporter of those students she is closest to. Mrs. Wesbecher successfully executes professional skills that make her a superior high school teacher. Regardless of the challenges she faces daily, she faces problems head-on and tackles them professionally.
When asked about the rewards of her career, she replied enthusiastically. She takes immense pride in helping students better their reading, writing, and communication skills every day. These are skills that students will need for the rest of their lives, and Mrs. Wesbecher highlights these in her classes. Gather from her interview, the best part about her job are the students, to which she says, “I am entertained every day by these kids. FCHS has a wonderful student body with supportive parents who expect the teachers to push their students to achieve”. She is certainly a people person and she knows that she can rely on her variety of students to make any day better. She makes it clear that she is very dedicated to each of her students, focusing on their problems and needs while putting hers on the back burner. One of her job’s main focuses is problem solving, and she says that each day flies by quickly thanks to the fun atmosphere; she says it is never boring.
When it comes to stress in the classroom, Mrs. Wesbecher is a lenient teacher. She offers no penalty late passes for homework and other assignments that can be used for instances that may arise which cause a student to not complete their work on time. A great advantage of having her as a teacher is that she allows her students to pick their long term due dates. She gives students the reins when it comes to staying on track and completing assignments, although this sometimes brings more stress to the table. The most common stress problems she treats include students not being able to finish their work on time. She runs into many instances where students procrastinate down to the last possible moment. This puts stress on the students and puts Mrs. Wesbecher’s stress management skills to the test. She is responsible for counseling students with high strung anxiety, which she finds often (especially during her students’ senior year). Whether she knows it or not, she practices valuable stress management techniques every day with her students.
Knowing that I plan to become a teacher, Mrs. Wesbecher provided me with advice regarding the field and the changes we are likely to see. To be a successful teacher, she says “have a genuine love for the students. You need to also respect education and, above all, look for the positives in every kid”. You need to be a people person to be a strong teacher. When it comes to changes being made, there will always be issues with formal written communication skills due to overbearing social media. As an English teacher, it can sometimes be challenging to make your students disengage from social media as ways of communication to write quality papers. With social media comes the inability to distinguish fact from fiction and depletes ones’ feelings of self-worth, all which Mrs. Wesbecher finds concerning.
After being under the instruction of Mrs. Wesbecher my senior year and interviewing her to further my knowledge about her job, it should be clear why I have chosen to pursue a degree in secondary education. Yes, a job in the education field is filled with its fair share of stress, but applying stress management tactics I have learned from class and Mrs. Wesbecher, I have already learned how to be successful in the classroom.
Another teacher that I look up to quite a bit is Mr. Matthew Biver. Mr. Biver was my chemistry teacher during my sophomore year of high school. Including the current year, he has been a high school teacher for 16 years. To be a credible science educator, Mr. Biver attended the University of Illinois and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science in 2000. He was not completely done yet, so he went back to obtain his Master of Education in Education from Olivet Nazarene University in 2006.
Just as Mrs. Wesbecher, Mr. Biver is always greeted with a busy day when he walks in the doors of Freeburg Community High School at 7:45 am. He diligently goes over his notes, looks over his planned activities, meets with struggling students, and holds test review sessions on test days, all before 8:15 am when the first bell rings for class to begin. He has six class periods where he will teach subjects in science, which include biology and chemistry, with one prep period to try to organize, plan, and maintain his busy schedule. His six actively teaching classes are loaded with responsibilities for his freshman through senior students, which include lectures, working out problems with the class, overseeing class activities, grading strenuous papers and tests, and prepare for the next day to repeat it all over again. In the evenings, he takes his free time to finish what he may have missed. When asked what that entails, he replied with, “answer e-mails from confused chemistry students” (which he has a lot of).
As a leader in education, Mr. Biver undoubtedly carries many duties and responsibilities on his shoulders. In addition to teaching chemistry and biology, he is accountable for maintaining discipline in his students and hold them to a high standard. He is an education professional; therefore, he expects professionalism from students in the classroom. Mr. Biver leads by example, showing good moral character and monitoring his students’ behaviors, paying close attention to what seem to be minor details. He imparts life skills and lessons in addition to his chemistry and biology knowledge upon all his students. He also watches to maintain safety in the classroom as well as the hallways between and during classes. Considering he has been teaching and carrying out the same responsibilities for several years, it is obvious that he is successful in and out of the classroom.
As can be expected, he faces many challenges and obstacles every day. He says that one of his challenges includes treating everyone equally and fairly. He sees hundreds of students, all of which are from a diverse population, and assists them in all their issues and needs. He struggles with dedicating enough time and patience to all his students, as well as grading assignments and handing them back within a timely manner. One of the bigger challenges is constantly coming up with new and exciting activities that involve biology or chemistry. He also struggles with presenting crucial information to his classes with energy and excitement. He consistently has to come up with ways to keep his audience educated and engaged (not only for the day, but for the whole year).
When Mr. Biver was asked what the rewards are of being a high school science teacher, his first response was quick and confident: “Working with teenagers. They are fun, full of energy, and just plain funny”. He is aware that he easily makes a difference in all his students’ educations but is sometimes unaware of the impact he has on their lives outside of the classroom. In the classroom, he enjoys witnessing “light bulb moments” from students. These are the moments when material finally clicks for them and they light up. Being a teacher is a rewarding job for Mr. Biver; to prove this, he says he takes pride in making a difference in a student’s life just by giving them someone to talk to or giving them a smile.
Test anxiety, anxiety over grades, and the average stresses of high school are the most common stress problems that Mr.

Biver encounters. He aids a lot of students that struggle with trying to “fit in” in high school. Everyone wants to be accepted and high school can be a very difficult place to gain acceptance for some people. When it comes to common stress problems, Mr. Biver takes the diligent amount of time needed to help students cope and walk them through their struggles.

To help with anxiety and stress, Mr. Biver has an every day solution. At the beginning of each class period, he poses the question, “Does anyone have anything to say?” which usually catches the attention of the whole class. During this time, he allows students to rant and rave about anything from school related problems to personal issues. He truly engages in each conversation and gives his advice and input where he feels it necessary. With his sincerity, kindness, and tough love, Mr. Biver displays paternal qualities that can help any student through a hard time.

When he was asked what advice he would give to someone entering this field, he replied that some days will be trying, and some students may test your patience at times, but the outcomes and rewards are completely worth it. Being a science teacher can be tricky, but he loves the job, the challenges, the rewards, and his

students.