Q: What’s your name?
A: Ethan Shriver
Q: What’s your position at Central?
A: I am a social studies teacher and I teach one section of civics and three sections of world cultures.
Q: What did you do before coming to Central?
A: I worked at Central last year in a really small year teaching one class of world history. Before that, I was a student teacher at Urbana High School in Champaign.
Q: How do you plan to enhance the subject you teach in/how will you get kids engaged in what you are teaching?
A: I really try to focus on building my relationships with students so that they feel really comfortable in the classroom. I feel like a lot of times, students can feel a little intimidated by Social Studies at times, especially whether it’s a history topic or world cultures or world history. So my goal is to make sure that students feel comfortable in the classroom at first, and then, ideally, they build relationships with one another, and they can talk about these conversations and how it’s important to their lives. It’s not just how the content is important in general, but how it relates to their lives specifically.
Q: What type of classroom environment do you bring to the table?
A: I try really hard to make sure that all students are super comfortable, that it’s a safe learning environment. Students obviously can learn better when they have friends in the classroom, not just people that they bring into the classroom, but that they’re making friends along the way. I [try] to make sure that students are doing group work together, that they’re having some assignments that require teamwork, but also that it’s fun. I want the classroom to be pretty lively. Have little side tangents from time to time, right? I’m not past that. So anyway, as long as students are trying to have fun while we’re learning the topics, I think that’s a good thing. I try to include it as frequently as possible.
Q: What is your favorite thing about teaching?
A: I think what I enjoy most about teaching is the social aspect. I always fear that I’d be someone who ends up behind an office desk or a little cubicle, and so being able to work with my colleagues here and working with other students [is my favorite part]. I’ve always described teaching as a learning experience. I am still currently doing classes right now for an ESL endorsement, so I’m not someone who is going to continue to teach without learning myself.
Q: What made you choose Central?
A: Well, I just signed up to be a sponsor of Hawk TV, so I’m really looking forward to getting more involved in that, and seeing those first couple episodes, and seeing how they air, getting to know the students are passionate about that. And speaking of that, honestly, I love getting to know students’ passions.
Q: What are you looking forward to this year?
A: I have always heard really good things about Naperville Central, even when I went to school [at] Lockport [Township] High School, and I always heard great things. I wasn’t positive that the opportunity was going to arise, but when I graduated, it was a little bit more of a last minute thing. It was pretty close to August, and I felt that the stars were kind of aligned and that things were meant to be. I had heard great things about the administration here. I heard great things about the students, and then obviously, the first couple days, and you realize how, how true that is.
Q: How has your transition from being a substitute to being a full-time teacher been?
A: It has been great! I have loved getting to know more students and building environments that make learning exciting. It has also been great to feel more present in the school as a club sponsor and going to games.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I’ve been trying to get a little bit more reading done, but especially as the school year picks up, that’s been a little bit more difficult. It’s a little bit easier to squeeze in movies. I try to go to the gym as often as possible. I try to get out since I just moved into the Naperville area. I’m trying to experience what the downtown area is like, and getting to know that area. Trying new restaurants has been really exciting. I’m [also] trying to go to the gym as much as possible, since I feel like it’s a good mental clarity thing.
Q: What extracurricular activities do you participate in or hope to participate in at Central?
A: I’m doing Hawk TV right now, which has been really great. We’re currently working on getting our first episode produced. I think there’s a good aim to make sure that it’s lively and it’s got a lot of school pride. Our goal is to make sure that students are invested in what we have to produce. I’m doing that with Mrs. Rigik [right now]. Outside of that, it’s mainly trying to make sure I’m going to football games and flag football games. I know there’s a Psychology Club, [and] I’d love to get involved with that in the near future. Maybe coaching soccer too. I love that environment, but I need a little more training before I get to that.