Teachers are very important in the Southeast Polk school district. If students didn’t have them, school wouldn’t be the same. Teachers work hard to ensure the learning is important to the students of Southeast Polk.
History teacher, Madeline Kieler, teaches AP US Government and Politics, Law & You, and Global Studies. In January of 2018 Kieler started teaching at Southeast Polk. Seven years of teaching high school must be hard, but she takes it like a champ.
Kieler has always liked history class. In high school, she was in AP US Government and Politics. Her favorite high school teacher was the one who taught that class. She is now teaching that same course.
Kieler mostly teaches classes that involve the government. She says she loves it and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. She loves to talk to young people about politics and their government.
“Whether you care about the government or not it still impacts you and I think knowing how those decisions happen are important,” said Kieler.
Kieler, as most teachers do, has her favorite things and her least favorite things as a teacher.
“Grading tests [is my least favorite thing and my favorite thing is] conversations with my students, especially unplanned conversations with them,” said Kieler.
When she was younger, Kieler thought she wanted to do something in medicine because most of her family was in that career field. However,Kieler has always had a talent for teaching. From helping others on their assignments for school to teaching the subject, Kieler has always liked teaching.
“It wasn’t until my freshman year of college when I learned I wanted to teach,” said Kieler.
Kieler says she is very passionate and motivated to continue teaching high school students.
“No year is the same. My classroom is made by the students who are in here and every year it is different and exciting,” said Kieler.
Some advice Kieler wants students to know is to always be asking questions when it comes to the government, register to vote when students are of age, and stay engaged.
Staying engaged includes voting whenever the time comes, protesting peacefully when there is something the government is not doing right, and volunteering in the community and government.
Everyone has things they want to change about the government and that doesn’t exclude Kieler, however she values the differences that make the U.S unique.
“The US has a lot of distinct differences compared to first world or European countries and we wouldn’t be the same without them. Even though I have some things I disagree with I wouldn’t change the distinct differences in the US,” said Kieler.
A distinct difference the US has compared to other countries are the three branches of government. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches are all equally important in the US government. They all have their own roles and parts they play.
Political parties are changing every day and so are the students’ views and opinions on government issues. Since most students have access to the internet and social media, they are able to find out things about the government.
According to the New York Times, “Overwhelmingly, the topics students brought up over and over again were climate change, abortion and gun violence. But they also talked about the economy, social media, international relations, health care, farming and homelessness.”
There is a major disagreement about children and students having social media and access to the internet, but there are equally good and bad things about social media regarding politics.
Some negative effects of politics on social media is the ability to produce both real and fake (misinformation, propaganda, and others) political news. There is also a possibility of harassment and hate speech among students.
Some positive impacts social media has on politics is that news travels fast because there are millions of Americans and most of them have access to social media and the internet. People can share, repost, like, and comment on political posts and it can help others find out their opinions if they don’t already know them. It also helps students educate themselves and others on the political state of the US and other countries.
Kieler says she loves the fact that the students’ opinions are changing and she is glad that students have access to and are exposed to the internet to get to know and interact with their government.
The government involves everyone, whether they like it or not. Students are still a part of the government and should be involved and know what is happening. Even if they aren’t eighteen years old yet. Kieler says the same thing.
“The government impacts everyone,” said Kieler.
