The most important part of a good school is the teachers, for this reason decided
to sit down with Mr. Barlow, one of Freedom High Schools own teachers on his
experience and thoughts on teaching.
First, I asked basic questions, how long he has been teaching and the subjects he
offers. “26 years, I teach mostly social studies, US history, economics, law, and
government.”
Next, I asked why Mr. Barlow became a teacher. “I love history and teaching is
pretty much the only job that involves history, I also love teaching kids.”
I then asked what is something that every teacher should be able to do for their
class and students. “Every teacher should be able to show that they care about
their student’s education, and that they’re not just there to get a paycheck.”
Teachers do more jobs than some students may think, I decided to ask Mr. Barlow
what jobs or responsibilities a teacher has the students might not be aware of
“there’s a lot more that goes into being a teacher then students think, we plan
out our lessons, grade papers which takes a lot of time”
And what something he learned from his 26 years of teaching. “How to deal with
a great variety of people, you get people from all backgrounds who all learn
differently.”
With the world slowly recovering from the global pandemic I asked Mr. Barlow
how he had been affected. “It has really made it more difficult; more kids are sent
home and I have to help them get caught up, teaching in a mask has also been
difficult.”
Lastly, I asked Mr. Barlow a message for students who are interested in taking one
of his classes “hopefully you have fun, I try to make my lessons as fun as I possibly
can.”