New Bonneville Staff Members: Ready To Make a Change

Cora Garrette - Dardzinski
Staff Writer
  This year, like every year, the new staff has so much to offer. When it comes down to it, they are ready to start up and have a positive mindset on their classes and how they will teach each one. This specific new staff member Trevor Povey is a freshly graduated college student who teaches Honors History and U.S. History that always brings a positive mindset. He really wants to be able to teach his students history while also helping them “learn to be people.” He currently has set bellworks and inspirational videos to help students progress into this mindset with his favorite reason of, “I’m here to help you become a person, not some historian.”
  Povey had begun his year thinking he was going to come into an empty classroom with nothing except for his desk and the student’s desks. However, he was quickly surprised when he walked in to see bookshelves and a filing cabinet. Povey, who took over Mr. Strobel’s position after accepting an administrator job at Rocky Mountain Middle School, explained that he was left behind plenty of supplies. He then finished his explanation by saying, “I feel like the admin has been very supportive in terms of getting stuff.” After being asked what was something he knew before coming into this school, Povey talked about how he wished he knew the school culture since it is hard to gauge before starting. He further explained that this is in terms of student involvement with sports, extracurriculars, and school spirit. He loves the energy, but if he knew about it before starting, it would have helped him in knowing what the school was like. 
  Further into the interview, Povey explained that he loves the engagement in class and having discussions whether it is during the lesson or at the end of class. However, there was one major thing he had to change within the class to adapt to his students. The major change he made was “the seating chart,” he explained.  At the beginning of the school year, the seats were set up in rows on either side facing the center. Most students loved the seating chart, but it proved to be too much after the constant chatter. As a compromise, Povey switched the desks to a more traditional setup; rows. Most of the students loved the new seating arrangement, but some still did not. So, to try and overcome this, Povey wants to switch the desk arrangement again next trimester to make sure all students enjoy it. Another thing Povey hopes to do next trimester is find a way to keep an organized lesson plan system that has more flexibility and feels less robotic. He would like to have lesson-related activities as well as in-class discussions that allow the students to talk without talking out of turn. 
  At the end of the interview, Povey was asked what advice he would give to another new teacher. He followed this with, “I would say, don’t stress the little things because they will work themselves out at some point. There’s bigger fish to fry every single day.” He then finished with, “pick your battles, whether that’s with a cellphone or one of thirty students who might not be super engaged in your class.” Povey hopes to also spread the message that this school has such amazing staff members and to never be scared of asking for help whether that is to new teachers or even just other students.

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