Foundations Teacher Spotlight: Angel Tari

Name:
Angel Tari
 
Position (grade):
7th/8th grade social studies
 
Years at Foundations:  
7 years
 
Years in Education:
11 years
 
Favorite part of Foundations:
The feeling of being part of an educational family, both with my peers and the students we teach.
 
Favorite lesson to teach:
I have so many! One that I love to teach seventh grade is about the Plague Doctors and how globalization had both positive and negative impacts on our world. This lesson includes dressing up as a plague doctor and running students through a simulation in which they are traveling through Europe during a major plague outbreak.
 
Best part of being a teacher:
The best part of being a teacher is knowing that you impact lives daily; you are helping to build individuals with strong character and increasing academic curiosity.  
 
What do you want your students to know:
I want them to know that teaching is not just a job to me--It's far more. Even after they leave our halls, I love to know how my students are growing and becoming young adults. It always brings me joy when they reach out to me years later to let me know how they are doing or what is going on in their worlds.
 
What leadership opportunities do you offer middle school students?
I co-sponsor our Foundations Student Council, helping students find ways to be involved in our community. Our students have helped name a new Brighton city park in honor of our school's student body, raised over $400 for a local puppy rescue, and $100 for a battered women's home. The key to making social studies real is to have students see the impact that they already can make on their community at middle school age. Empowering our youth to be leaders is truly a key to a better future for us all.