During the current fall semester at Antonia Pantoja High School, Mr. Shanley, the Social Studies teacher, has been working with two teacher candidates from Northeastern Illinois University. Isai Torres and Tom DiCosola have been completing clinical hours with Mr. Shanley and have used their expert knowledge of Social Studies to teach two separate mini-units in the United States History and American Government classes.

Throughout this period, Mr. Torres and Mr. DiCosola have been able to bring new perspectives to the Social Studies curriculum while fine tuning their own skills. Through collaboration with Mr. Shanley they have aided in student-centered projects, develop and implement their own unit plans, and measured progress through feedback from supervising professors and the classroom teacher.

Both student teachers displayed a positive, professional attitude in the classroom and have developed working relationships with staff and students that have enhanced the learning environment and improved the educational experience.

Mr. Torres created and taught a two-week mini-unit on the Legislative process, exploring the pros and cons, and getting students to think critically about their role in representative government and how these decisions affect their lives.

Mr. DiCosola taught students about the process of Westward Expansion, exploring the long term affects of Native-American removal, and how the Mexican-American war has caused ambiguity about immigration issues and border problems between the United States and Mexico. Antonia Pantoja High School was honored to be able to aid in the advancement of these teacher candidates and looks to host more student teachers in the future.