She loves teaching middle schoolers
Published: September 18, 2005
Middle school is where sixth-graders belong, according to Gwen Pequette.
Rapid City’s 2005 Middle School Golden Apple winner has spent the past 12 years teaching at South Middle School. Before that, she spent four years teaching sixth grade at South Park Elementary school.
“I love middle school,” Pequette said. Middle school gives sixth graders “the movement that they need.” Class periods last 45 minutes, and then, the kids have time to get up and move around and talk with their friends, she said.
Pequette applies that same philosophy in her classroom, where she brings history alive for her students. Pequette also teaches reading.
“I really like the whole idea of interactive, where they don’t just study something from a book, but they experience it,” she said. “And it’s great for what I teach, because I teach ancient civilizations. We try to experience what it was like to be an Egyptian or a Sumerian or a Greek or a Roman.”
South’s principal Larry Stevens said her students will always remember King Tut after watching the assistant principal lay under a covering for hours while Pequette taught a lesson on Egypt.
Pequette is passionate about her teaching and understands sixth graders, Stevens said.
“She is so into what she teaches, and I see that in her students as well,” a co-worker said.
Roman armor made with aluminum foil cookie sheets, cardboard helmets and temple models are ready and waiting for each group of sixth graders.
Students plan Sumerian weddings and compete in Greek Olympic athletic and academic games as part of their cultural studies.
“Sixth graders are great; they come in with such enthusiasm,” Pequette said. “They don’t mind being silly and dressing up.”
Her sixth graders learn to love ancient history, according to Pequette. They come to her classroom with very little exposure to history. Most don’t even like social studies, she said.
“My goal has been to have kids fall in love with learning about people of the past because they have so much to teach them,” she said. “History repeats itself, and there’s so much to learn.”
The props and classroom productions help bring history alive for her students, she said.
“I try to create an atmosphere that makes kids want to learn and come to school every day,” Pequette said.
“Gwen truly enjoys teaching and reaching out to young people,” said Barb McNabb, who teaches at South. “Gwen is a super teacher because she is a wonderful person.”
Pequette’s first teaching job at a private school was almost her last.
“I didn’t like it. I wasn’t going back,” Pequette said. Then, she took 13 years off to be a stay-at-home mom for her two sons.
As a mother, she started thinking about what kind of teacher she wanted for them.
When the opportunity came to return to the classroom, she “fell in love with kids” and teaching.
“You have to love the kids you’re with, and I do,” she said.
“I just want these kids to develop into wonderful people,” Pequette said. “They’re wonderful already, but I want them to learn with their heads and their hearts.
“I want them to be good people and go out and make a difference,” she said.
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