By: Ami R., Ishan J., Logan S., Mason P., Sid A., and Yash P.
Mrs. Kaiser is an 8th Grade LED at Design39Campus. She likes 8th grade because the students are starting to form opinions and deep thoughts about the world around them. Mrs. Kaiser began teaching 8th grade at Design39Campus after Mr. Downs encouraged her to co-teach the first promoting group of 8th graders. When Mrs. Kaiser was a student, she was always interested in U.S. History and anything related to writing. She also was an English Major. Mrs. Kaiser said if you’re coming into 8th grade, you need to talk in person with your teachers. “You should not be scared of them as they are here to help you.” She has taught since 1993. Mrs. Kaiser does not assign too much homework, as most of the time, homework is what you don’t finish in class. When Mrs. Kaiser isn’t teaching, she likes to spend time outdoors gardening, camping, and reading.
Mr. Downs is an 8th-grade LED at Design39Campus. His favorite part of 8th grade is the people he works with both students and teachers! He decided to teach 8th grade mostly because at the time, he had taught for 20 years in 6th and 7th grade and he wanted to loop with his kids up to 8th grade. He usually gives 45 minutes of homework Monday through Thursday. Mr. Downs has also taught 2nd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade. He has been teaching for 31 years. The advice that Mr. Downs would give to students entering 8th grade is that every student who works hard does well. The part of the school year that Mr. Downs likes the most is the second semester because 8th grade gets into the 1800s in American History and that was a time of huge changes and more connected to our modern day. What inspired Mr. Downs to teach is that everything that he enjoyed seemed to involve teaching. Outside of school, Mr. Downs likes to do home improvement projects and maintenance of his little farm in Ramona. And whenever possible, traveling around the world!
Mr. Jacobson is an 8th-grade STEM LED at Design39Campus. In his experience teaching 8th Grade, his favorite moments are when students collect real data in class for science labs. Mr. Jacobson also likes when he gets to learn new things along with them. He decided to teach 8th grade because he liked the topics the students learned in 8th grade. When he was growing up, he was fascinated by science, but math took him a bit longer to enjoy. The advice that Mr. Jacobson would give students entering 8th grade is that there is a lot of new content, so you will need to study. Therefore, you cannot just show up and expect to do well. The best part of the school year for Mr. Jacobson is the end of the trimester because of the “soldering” project for a PLTW class he teaches. Mr. Jacobson has taught for 16 years. Mr. Jacobson studied engineering in college and became a teacher because he likes working with students. He doesn’t like to give out homework as busy work, it is usually only what you haven’t finished in class. Mr. Jacobson’s favorite thing to do outside of school is to take his dogs to dog beaches and parks.
Mr. Asmus is an 8th Grade LED (Teacher) at Design39Campus. Mr. Asmus likes teaching 8th grade because the kids are more mature and understand his humor and learning style. He also likes the complexity of the content he teaches. Mr. Asmus decided to teach 8th grade because that’s what he loved to do. Mr. Asmus always loved both math and science in school and he was always fascinated by numbers. Mr. Asmus loves getting to know his students at the beginning of the year and he loves “the point where things just click for them.” He also likes the fully student-designed promotion at the end of the year. Mr. Asmus has been teaching for 15 years. He decided to teach while he was in college tutoring students and his roommate said that he would be a good teacher. Mr. Asmus took a leap of faith and became a great teacher. He teaches the optional, accelerated math class. He only likes to give out around 30 minutes of homework on math days (every other day). Otherwise, it is only what you didn’t finish in class.
Mr. Bielik is a 7th and 8th Grade LED at Design39Campus. Mr. Bielik likes teaching 7th and 8th grade because of the in-depth conversations that he can have with the students. He likes how the students are aware of things happening in the world around them. Mr. Bielik decided to teach middle school because of the complexity of the subjects. Mr. Bielik is fascinated by science and history. He likes being creative and finding unique ways to solve problems. For new students coming into 7th or 8th grade, Mr. Bielik says they should “mentally prepare themselves for a rigorous year.” He says that people will expect you to work hard, not for them but for themselves. Mr. Bielik loves the end of the year because a lot of students start to reflect and open up to their teachers. Mr. Bielik has been teaching for 4 years. Mr. Bielik started teaching because he learned that helping others helped him. Outside of school, Mr. Bielik likes to play games, like Dungeons and Dragons.
