Luca Giordano
Contributing Writer
Isaac Moore, World Civilizations and U.S. Government teacher, has an individualistic approach to education, which is a message he wants to resonate with his students.
“I would guess that every student that had me in class would know that I care,” Moore said.
Moore’s teaching style is based around standards. “It’s like a buzz word to say you’re a student-centered teacher, so I’m not just a student-centered teacher. I would say I’m a standard-centered teacher first,” Moore said.
“If I’m not hitting the standards, but like I’m really good friends with the students, and they all love me, I actually think I’ve failed as a teacher,” Moore said.
In achieving his standards as a teacher, Moore takes an innovative assessment approach. Moore plays to the strengths of his students, mentioning podcasts and video game layouts that could apply to his standards.
“I had kids that were so bad at test taking, but they could make TikTok videos, so I was like, ‘Okay, if you make a TikTok video that hits this standard and this standard, that’s your summative assessment,’” Moore said.
Sophomore Lily Naert is in Moore’s World Civilizations Advanced class. “He has a very laid back style of teaching,” Naert said.
Naert mentioned Moore likes to connect with students and talk to them as if they were his friends. Connection with students is important to Moore. He keeps posters in his room that align with his interests and hopes to connect students who have similar interests. Moore said he would listen to students’ take on music or art, and even listen to music recommended by students.
Moore’s experiences led him to becoming a teacher. During his time at Asbury University in Kentucky, Moore played basketball for the school. After originally going to college for music education, his experiences living with teammates and his time in disadvantaged communities led him to the discovery that there was talent in the children that he coached and taught and that they didn’t have quality resources at their disposal.
“In my head, I was like, ‘I’m gonna give back in that way.’ I want to be someone that can give that access to those kids,” Moore said about what drew him to teach.
Moore teaches sophomore and freshman classes. To prepare students for college and AP learning styles, Moore takes an open-idea approach. His style attempts to eliminate memory recall questions.
“Instead of asking what happened, asking why things happened. I really, really, really, really try to have as many open-thought questions,” Moore said.
Moore’s goal is to transition students into a more fluid learning style than he claims previously taught to them.
Moore is most proud about his way of showing students that he cares. He also wants to challenge his students, not only with his assignments and learning, but also challenging perceptions that students have about what teachers look and act like.
