By Celina Wu
<[email protected]>

While seated quietly at her desk, senior Lena Gerber formulates a response to a question written on the board. Recording an entry like this in her journal, or tagesbuch, has become a regular exercise that Gerber completes every Monday during her German V class. Not only has she had to grow accustomed to a different routine, but she has had an additional unfamiliarity in that her teacher; Angelika Becker, German teacher and world language department chairperson, is new to the school this year.

“I really miss my old teacher, but Frau Becker is also a really good teacher. The class and teacher are different, but it’s not bad different. It’s good,” Gerber said.

Becker is among the five additions to the world language department staff. Some students may be affected more by this change than others. For students in higher level language classes, like Gerber, adapting to the change in teachers after they were acquainted with their previous teachers might be more difficult than for beginning language students. Even though these teachers bring an evident change to this school, Gerber said it is a favorable one.

Since former German teacher Genene Halverson retired after the last school year and was replaced by Becker, Gerber said that she has observed differences in her class.

Gerber said that there is more composition and worksheets now, which aren’t her preferences, but there are other aspects of the class that she enjoys more. For instance, she said that she likes how Becker incorporates music into the classroom when doing so pertains to the unit that the class is studying.

She said, “I like listening to music during class because it’s not just the usual. Frau Becker tries to keep variety in our classes, and it’s definitely more fun than reading from a book.”

Starting class with an entertaining game is another activity that breaks the monotony of a typical routine. “We have this game where you sit on a stool and face the class, and Frau Becker writes the name of a person or animal on the board,” Gerber said. “Then, the person on the stool has to ask yes or no questions in German to figure out who they are, like once we did Michael Phelps.”

Becker said that as a new teacher she brings her experiences and variety. She said, “I add to the diversity of the school. Since I am German and grew up there, my insights and my background will help students to understand a different culture better.”

Gerber said she agreed that Becker is a notable addition to this school. She said, “I like the fact that Frau Becker branches out and teaches us a lot of different things. I think my German is going to improve a lot.”

Becker said, “Generally top level students are really loyal to their old teacher. Plus, they are used to the way things work, and they are comfortable with it. When I take over an upper level class, I make sure that students know that I care about them and their progress and that they can always come for help. In addition to that, I let them know that it is good to have different teachers with different styles and strengths. After a few weeks I usually win them over and they accept me as their teacher, and we have a great time.”

Gerber said that although she really misses her previous German teacher, she said that having Becker as a teacher is a positive change to which she and other high level language students just have to acclimate. “We’re all adjusting to the new teachers, but just like any other class, I know I just act like it’s a new teacher I haven’t met before,” she said. “But having Frau Becker as my new teacher is a good thing because each teacher has something different to offer, and we can learn new things from every new teacher we have.”

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NEW TEACHERS

• Angelika Becker (German)
• Alex Coates (Latin)
• Lauren King (German)
• Leslie McCarty (French)
• Joe Wheeler (ASL)

NUMBER OF TEACHERS

• ASL – one teacher
• Chinese – one part-time teacher
• French – three teachers
• German – two teachers
• Japanese – one teacher
• Latin – one teacherand one part-time teacher
• Spanish – 12 teachers and one part-time teacher

ANGELIKA BECKER / SOURCE