Feature Teacher: Mr. Van Scoyoc

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Zach Miller

Mr. Van Scoyoc has been teaching at B-A since 2006.

Mr. Van Scoyoc is a veteran teacher at Bellwood-Antis who wears many hats.

A French teacher most of the day, he also teaches a sections of English 12. For French he teaches levels 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as exploratory French for middle school students.

Mr. Van, as he is known by his students, also advises the French Club .Mr. Van has been teaching for 15 years, starting at B-A  in august 2006

BluePrint:  What do you enjoy about teaching French?

Mr.Van Scoyoc: I enjoy Introducing students to a new language and cultures.  I like to  help them see connections in language and to gain a new perspective about their own culture. I like that French offers a chance to explore a variety of disciplines: Linguistics, literature, history, Geography, etc.

BluePrint: How do you balance your schedule?

It can be a challenge having 5 different preparations each day. Its never boring though. I’m not the most organized person to begin with, so i have to use a lot of of planning tools to keep track of what I’m doing in each class said Mr. Van

Mr. Van Scoyoc has some small classes like French 4 because not many people take it. Mr. Van said it makes some group activities and games difficult if there aren’t many students to participate. If there aren’t many students in French levels 1 and 2, there it can be hard recruiting students to continue on to the advanced levels.

When you have a small class it also comes with some advantages. Mr. Van said you can provide more individuals attention and get to know students better. In French 3 and 4, there may be only two or three students, so we can be less formal and have more opportunity for conversation in French.