Austin Siebel is a dedicated Photojournalism and English teacher with 22 years of teaching experience. She is deeply admired by her students and she is known for building strong relationships with her students.
When it comes to Siebel’s specialty, it has to be helping students with both their school life and personal life. Not only is she a great listener for her students but she can relate to what some students go through; Siebel faced several hardships and has an understanding of where some students come from. Siebel believes that an ideal class is one where a student feels comfortable being authentic. She emphasizes the importance of not having students fake their engagement out of fear of judgment. Siebel wants to be sensitive to each student’s background and needs. To Siebel, being able to read each of their body language to understand if they’re bored, engaged, or distracted is very important to her. Her goal is to bring everyone together to focus on the lesson, ensuring that all students are genuinely involved and attentive. “I want every student to be authentic.” Siebel expressed.
Siebel enjoys it when students are engaged and interested in her classroom activities. Like when a student is involved in conversations about the same topic Siebel is having in the classroom.
Siebel states that she “learns things from my students every day.” However, she finds it frustrating “not being able to reach into a student’s life and change situations that are harmful or just negative for kids.” Siebel feels that some students struggle to communicate with teachers, especially if they don’t see value in what they’re learning. That’s why she tries to offer a variety of topics, like a buffet, to see what interests them. She encourages students to explore what excites them more deeply when they work on projects at the end of the unit.
In Siebels’s view, building a better person starts within. Siebel mentions, “ I believe that building a better person starts inside and I think that answer is different for every person.”
