To help his students, Reisert said he spends a lot of time at the beginning of the school year building relationships.
Connecting with his middle-schoolers creates a classroom of engaged students, he said.
A visit to Oak Valley’s Room 561 found 32 sixth-graders with all eyes on the teacher or on the screen displaying a slide show from Reisert’s travels to Egypt.
There was no doodling, no staring into space, no chatter. The kids were hooked on an introductory lesson about ancient Egypt.
To bring everything he teaches to life, Reisert said, he has made it a point to travel to all of the places his students will study.
Brianna Ashley, 11, said she likes that Reisert’s class is interactive. “He’s gone to all these places in history. He can tell a story.”
A slide show, discussion and passing around a piece of ancient pyramid and some Sahara sand don’t take up the entire 80-minute block.
Reisert uses blink-and-you’ll-miss-them transitions every 10 to 15 minutes, with students switching to independent work, and then maybe partner work before returning to more instruction. He quiets his class with the phrase “And a hush came over the crowd,” to which the students respond, “Huuuush.”
Brianna said she appreciates the respect her teacher and students have for each other. “We want to feel important, and he helps that. He helps us feel that we’re not just little kids learning a tiny subject.”
Like his inspiration Mr. Ryan, Reisert wants to connect outside the classroom as well. He lives with his family about a mile from school, a decision he said was important to him, to put down roots where he teaches.
Several years ago, he used his passion for endurance racing to help a former student, Tehya Foussat, who has spina bifida and lost much of her leg function after numerous spinal surgeries. He has raced several times to support Tehya and raise funds, and the two went on to form a nonprofit, Tehyathon.com.
Making his students a priority in and out of the classroom creates a busy, full life, and as a teacher, Reisert wouldn’t have it any other way. “I think every teacher brings their own unique set of gifts to the classroom,” he said. “This is what works best for me. This is my journey.”
