You may have seen a man in the hallway, standing outside a room with “Mr. Klepac” on the window, greeting various students as they pass. Maybe you have had him in a class, or never talked to him before. Who is Mr. Klepac? What does he teach, and most importantly, are his classes fun?
Mr. Klepac is an English teacher here at Wyoming High School. He teaches English ten, English eleven, Problem-Solving and Innovation (PSI). Klepac has been working at Wyoming high school for four years, and has been an English teacher for eight. One thing Mr. Klepac loves, is when students are able to engage in conversations together.
“Any time I can get the students talking to each other, and I am able to control what they are discussing, I love it,” Mr. Klepac said.
He strives to make his class fun and exciting, he loves the daily routines, such as talking to students and students talking to each other. Klepac also loves the idea of ‘A-B partners’, which is where students turn to their elbow partner and talk to each other.
Not only does he enjoy the students building relationships he also likes building relationships with his students. He wants everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in his classroom.
“I get to know what my students want me to know, I feel like I don't try to push to understand everything about each person,” Klepac said. “But I let them share whatever they want to and how much they want to.”
He enjoys getting to know his students and building relationships. Klepac tries to make sure he doesn't force anything. Some students don't like that because they don't want to have a teacher try to get into their life and know every single detail about them. Mr. Klepac finds that boundary line and is able to understand what students want so that he doesn't push anything.
“I don't push for anything, but in the end, if there is a relationship built then that is a huge win”
While Mr. Klepac is an English teacher, like everyone else, he has things he likes or dislikes: for him those are lessons. When you get to your English class and get ready to start learning, the lesson plays a huge role in how involved you are and how much you like or dislike the class. If you are learning something that you do like and enjoy doing, it will be easier and more fun. If you are working on something you don't like, it can be long and boring. Mr. Klepac has found that a lot of the students he has taught enjoy the Dear Martin lesson, and dislike plays. Some students have different opinions, but the majority agree. Getting to a classroom and needing to read out a play with other students can be challenging or boring.
“I don't like teaching plays,” Mr. Klepac confessed. “Teaching plays can be really challenging because they are designed to be read out loud, and it can work really well for students who will get into it and have fun with it, but my experience is that they don't like reading plays or scripts out loud so it would just be monotone and time-consuming.”
Mr. Klepac’s class is a class you would like if you enjoy talking to other people, building relationships with classmates, getting out of your seat, and having hands-on experiences. Mr. Klepac has changed a lot of things since his first year teaching.
“I get a different perspective every year.” Mr. Klepac stated. “During my first year I was so zoomed in on what I have to do for that day, I didn't look at the next day, week, or month ahead, I was just so locked in on that one day. Now I have the full scope.”
