Bronco Spotlight: Tom Christesen
Master of Arts in educational technology, 2016
World's Happiest 7th grade Social Studies Teacher at Breitung Township Schools
I am a 7th grade Social Studies teacher at Kingsford Middle School in the beautiful town of Kingsford in the U.P., GO FLIVVERS!! We learn about the Eastern Hemisphere. I am the luckiest person in the world because I have the greatest job in the world. I get to spend my days with the best young men and women you could ever meet. We use multiple ways to learn and use technology in a very positive way every chance we get. The usual method is through Chromebooks. Whether it's project based, researching, reading or the use of apps, we try it all in order to prepare our students for the future. We have always been a global society but it's more evident now more than ever and we must know how to engage the world in a positive and constructive and caring way. What better way than using our hearts, our minds and with technology to BE GOOD!!
What is the most rewarding and the most challenging part of your job?
The most rewarding is easy. EVERYTHING!!! I love everything about this job. I've been at it for over a decade and it never gets old. When you see the sense of wonder, curiosity, yearning, and HOPE in these kid's eyes you melt. The future is bright. These young men and women will do better than us. Trust me! The most challenging part is when we have kids who struggle. This is inevitable. It breaks your heart. But we just try harder. I often find that technology is the key to meeting these challenges. Many students can use different types of technology to assist them. But many need more hands on techniques. That doesn't mean technology can't still help. I can use technology to assist them by finding different approaches to help them. When these students find success, we turn a challenge into another reward, for ALL of us.