Saint Peter Middle School

Students in Angie Schilling’s 8th grade science classes at Saint Peter Middle School had a special “teacher for the day” on Thursday as part of a unit about energy, which coincided with Severe Weather Week. Eighth grader Ethan Harbitz took over for Mrs. Schilling to talk to his fellow students about the energy in tornadoes.

“Ethan came to me a few weeks ago asking to teach about weather during Severe Weather Week,” Schilling said. “At first he wanted a full week but we narrowed it down to one day where he would focus on the energy in tornadoes so it fit in with our Energy unit.  Instead of just teaching his class hour, he wanted to teach all of my 8th grade classes.

“He planned everything, from the presentation to the activity and hand out.  He made sure to get my feedback in case changes were needed. At the end of the first class, he said to me, ‘You must really love your job. This is so much fun!’ Many of the kids were excited for Ethan's lesson and left class telling him he did a great job and they enjoyed it." 

Although not the norm for a student to want to present to the whole 8th grade, according to Schilling, Harbitz took the opportunity seriously and definitely impressed his teacher and his classmates.  He later learned that grading papers is not the most enjoyable part of the job.

“Hopefully, we have a future science teacher among us,” Schilling added.
More shots of Ethan Harbitz "teaching" his fellow eighth graders about energy in tornadoes during Mrs. Schilling's class.