Traditional? Not for Mr. Rethinger
By Mackenzey H and Alynae G
As new teachers start to join MRHS, new ways of teaching and learning fill the classrooms. Students discover new ways of learning, and can develop new relationships with all kinds of teachers. Connection is a key part in teaching students and Mr. Reth never fails to grasp that. Although he has only been here for a few months, the impact he has made on students is already showing.
Students enjoy his unrealistic energy in the mornings, and the effort he puts into his work. One of his senior students, Isidro O says, “I like his energy even if I feel like crap in the early morning. He's very energetic and outgoing, and he does everything he can to make us feel welcome in the classroom every single day. ”Mr. Reth makes it his priority to ensure every student enjoys calss and brings energy to the mornings. Even when he gets tired and unamused looks, Mr. Reth never misses a beat.
Aside from his widely promised energy, Mr. Reth’s goal is to ensure every student feels seen, and drill in that his students are more than a grade. Senior Alynae G feels as though, “he teaches way better than others, and he actually makes us students feel seen and heard. He doesn't immediately grade. He talks about our work with us to understand our point of view.” All of his students know feedback will never not be given. When receiving a paper back from Mr. Reth, students can always count on the score being in a small corner so it doesn't take away from the students' work. Alynae followed up with “He helps us see things in different ways, and he likes to talk to every student. He makes us feel important.”
With Mr. Reth having an extensive teaching history that started in Aurora, and later continued to Adams 12, Cross Roads, Vantage Point, and now Mountain Range, he has come to understand different backgrounds. While Mr. Reth reflected on other possible career choices before he became a teacher, he claims he is beyond grateful he chose the teaching path. As he moves to different schools to teach, the things and students he has experienced never leaves his mind. Mr. Reth claims, “You work in central Aurora, you work at Vantage Point, you'll see some things you didn't understand before. Hunger. Students whose parents are in jail for drugs. And yet they show up everyday with their humor, and their poetry, and their desire to learn.” With Mr. Reth growing up in the suburbs, he wasn’t introduced to a wide variety of culture and background, but still finds a way to make every student feel welcome.
Many staff and students know of Mr. Reth for his unique way of teaching. He avoids the traditional essays, tests, and summatives, but opts in for new ways students can learn. He believes if that's what students need, they can get all that stuff in 7 other classes. He strives to find a way to make the assignments fun, relevant to the students, and inclusive to today's culture. He makes assignments that allow students to express their fears in the world, their dreams, and their personal history with no judgement. He shows an example of what he expects on assignments, but encourages his students to add personality in it. Their own opinions are always welcome, and if students believe they deserve a higher grade they are welcome, and even encouraged to challenge him. As many of his students know, he has a DEEP hatred for AI and takes the time out of his day to grade everything by hand and refuses to put it through an AI detector. If something is suspected to be AI, Mr. Reth talks to his students about what they wrote and seeks to find insight on their thought process.
Students have hard days where they don't want to, or can’t do anything, but Mr. Reth always takes that into account and provides the student what they need. Mr. Reth feels as though: “Being super demanding doesn’t get you what you want. If you want the kid to trust you, or to engage, or try harder, you can't do that at the end of a stick. You have to try and develop a rapport.” His strive to understand his students and give them a safe space to express themselves is why so many students appreciate his teaching.
Rethinger adds “Students should express what they know in a way that best fits their learning style.”
