Teacher honor roll
Rich Schwantz
School: Concordia Lutheran Elementary
Grade/subject teaching: Fourth grade
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Concordia University and master’s degree in elementary education from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Years teaching: 19
City born and raised: Chicago
Current hometown: New Haven
Family: Married to Yvonne, also a Lutheran school teacher. We are blessed with four children: Rachel, a freshman at Concordia Lutheran High School; Abby, sixth grade at Concordia; Sarah, third grade at Concordia; and Joseph, kindergarten at Concordia
Last book read: “Christ Have Mercy: How to Put Your Faith Into Action,” by Matt Harrison.
Favorite teacher: George Schmidt, my high school journalism teacher. He dedicated enormous amounts of time to his students, even writing us five- to six-page college letters of recommendations.
Favorite class in school: I loved taking social studies classes. I now work toward practically applying those skills for students’ everyday lives.
Favorite teaching memory: To demonstrate the circulatory system in science class, a parent offered to bring in a beef heart for the students to see. Believe me, many students (and their teacher!) were a little queasy about the whole thing. There were three fascinated students who sat up close and worked hands-on – those three are now pursuing medical careers! The lesson for me, a young teacher at that time, is that it’s so important to teach outside of the textbook and involve real-world experience as much as possible to cultivate student interest for the moment and for their future.
How do you prepare your students for ISTEP+: It is a mixture of educating and counseling! Many of my students, despite their great abilities, worry about the test. I remind them they are testing against themselves, and they need to show how much they have learned since last year and not compare themselves against peers or other schools’ results. I also tell them about a retired 80-year-old schoolmarm that grades all test booklets from the whole state of Indiana inside her small office in the Statehouse. They understand that I am kidding, and the laughter helps them relax (as well as place a human face on that test).
Nominated by: Tom, Cristi and Cobi Schieferstein, Concordia family
Reason for nomination: Cobi has struggled with school in the past and really enjoys Mr. Schwantz’s style of teaching. He engages her in class and makes her want to continue to learn.