By Liat Bainvoll, Staff Writer
Mr. William Reusch, Shalhevet’s newest history teacher, describes the thrill of venturing off onto the beaches of Catalina Island once a year, where he spearfishes every day for all of his meals.
“The pressure is on, and it’s like a mild version of Survivor,” Mr. Reusch said.
This mentality of taking one’s life into his or her own hands is what he wants to try to teach his students at Shalhevet.
“I got into teaching because I wanted to help young people create the life they want to lead,” Mr. Reusch said.
He said that he does so specifically through social studies by helping students pick up on the trends of successes and failures of the past, so they can apply the same principles to their own lives. He gave a sample lesson to sophomores last spring.
“I think Mr. Reusch did a really good job in incorporating media into a history lesson,” junior Jennie Drazin said about Mr. Reusch’s model lesson. “It made it really interesting.”
This year Mr. Reusch will be teaching American Literature, AP U.S. History, Government and Economics, and AP Government and Economics.
“I had the pleasure of observing a model lesson given by William,” Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal wrote in an e-mail introducing Mr. Reusch July 24. “Students were engaged and participated throughout the lecture and William spoke glowingly about the students and their thoughtful responses and questions.”
Mr. Reusch graduated from Penn State University with a major in secondary education Social Studies and a minor in history.
He went on to teach at schools in Los Angeles and Philadelphia with high populations of “at-risk” youths, he said. His main priority there was keeping them in school until graduation.
“I think the students at Shalhevet will challenge me in very different ways, and I am looking forward to it,” Mr. Reusch said.
Other than teaching, Mr. Reusch likes outdoor activities such as hiking, backpacking, scuba diving, and spearfishing. He also enjoys training and competing in jiu jitsu, a Brazilian martial art.
