For the fifth time this period, I find myself explaining how to correctly label a map of the 13 colonies. Many of the students are getting it at this point, but a few who are below grade-level expectations have been struggling with following multi-step directions. 

One student, who is often behind with basic work, calls me over asking, “Mr. Friesen, which one is this?” I motion towards the textbook which is open to a page showing the map of the colonies. He follows my eyes, thinking for a second, then smiles, shouting, “Massachusetts!!” 

Up until this point in the day, I will admit to feeling drained. Student teaching, the education department’s equivalent of an internship, has been a lot. Beginning in early August, I started co-teaching at Goshen Junior High School. It has been a steep learning curve to be able to navigate the education system as an adult. 

Some of the learning feels silly. For example, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out how to

leave the building without taking wrong turns. Yet, other aspects of teaching have forced me to confront some uncomfortable realities of our education system and society as a whole. 

During team meetings, we discuss students who are struggling and how to support them; many kids are dealing with serious, difficult issues. I am so impressed that they show up day in and day out and work as hard as they do. 

A large part of why I got into teaching is wanting to support students who the education system often dismisses or disregards. During one of my observations in a classroom, I witnessed a teacher who treated their students vastly differently based on their backgrounds. This is wrong to do in any situation, but even more so from a position of power over students who are at a vulnerable developmental stage. That teacher seemed to believe that some students simply didn’t want to learn because of their background. 

Now, during my senior year, I’m witnessing vastly different teachers and teaching styles. My mentor teacher, Shanna Wiese, focuses on truly making everyone feel welcome in her classroom. Students learn valuable lessons from history while simultaneously having fun. 

Melanie Tijerina ’97, who co-teaches in our classroom to support English language learner students, told me, “No student is unteachable.” This mindset, that all students are teachable and that teaching can be done in a fun way, is a core value that Goshen College’s education department teaches. It has been inspiring to see this in action and embodied by Wiese and Tijerina.  

It can be easy to assume that, if a student is struggling, they are “bad,” and if they understand something quickly, they are “good.” The assumption that difficulty is equated with whether something is good or bad is often made in teaching, but also in life. My dad told me a quote this summer: “Just because something is easy doesn’t mean it is good, and just because something is challenging does not mean it is bad.” However, I think as a society we often believe that anything challenging or difficult is bad. 

If I had this mindset, that students who are challenging are “bad,” they would know. Eighth graders can read when you have given up on them. So, even if it is difficult to explain things repeatedly or adapt lessons on the fly to meet students where they are, it is important to keep working. It is often when I am feeling worn out that a student sparks joy by grasping something they have struggled with. They smile and shout, “Massachusetts!!” 

Jacob Friesen is a senior from Forest Grove, OR, double majoring in secondary education and history. He likes running cross-country and track, playing board games and eating donuts while drinking coffee.