Bri Lazarchik, a teacher at Gilmour Academy, is the newest area educator to join the Teaching Cleveland network. This year, she and a group of Gilmour students joined the Teaching Cleveland Student Challenge (TCSC), a program that engages area high school students in a deep dive into the history and current challenges of sustainability in Northeast Ohio.
1. What do you teach/what do you do, and in what ways do you work to develop a love of place with your students?
I teach English and Social Studies at Gilmour and I also manage VECTOR, an experiential learning program. The “Rebuilding Cleveland” course I teach uses the city as its text, and engages students in the essential relationships between history, law, cultural institutions, and community development. I also help students see the vast number of resources in this local area to learn about careers and explore their passions. So many of our city’s anchor institutions have programming for high school students and it’s a privilege for me to help them discover it.
2. How has your experience been with Teaching Cleveland?
I love being involved with the Teaching Cleveland organization. Having access to a passionate community with incredible resources and knowledge makes telling the story of Cleveland even more rewarding and meaningful.
3. Has the Teaching Cleveland Student Challenge (TCSC) impacted you and your students in any ways
My students and I are loving the TCSC for similar reasons. First, it is so gratifying to meet educators and other students from across the city. We are united by our shared urban center. Bringing together a diverse array of schools allows for affirmations of our similarities and a rich discussion of differences. Place-based learning is rewarding because that which is discussed in TCSC sessions is immediately applicable – whether it be in the next day’s class, a weekend experience in the city, or even looking out the windows on our drive home that night.
4. How has connecting your students to their community impacted them? Have they had any “a-ha” moments?
One of my students in our “Rebuilding Cleveland” class recently wrote:
“I lived here my whole life, and I thought Cleveland was just another town with no uniqueness, but I could not be more wrong. I couldn’t be more interested in learning even more about my hometown’s history in this class. From the Rock Hall to our very own NASA research center, we are truly a city different from all others. Learning how we all play a role in our area by paying taxes to help public institutions such as schools has really opened my mind up. From being right next to a Great Lake to having amazing sports teams, I could not be happier to say I’m from Cleveland.”
I recommend Teaching Cleveland to everyone I know!
