Jennifer Hall’s Classroom is Not Just a Traditional Classroom

Jennifer Hall works to make the learning experience different.

Photo by Hitomi Mochizuki

Jennifer Hall works to make the learning experience different.

Emma Zwick, Staff Writer

To the average person, AP United States Government and Politics may appear to be a boring, monotonous class, consisting of dull lectures and repetitive note-taking. However, if you have Jennifer Hall, it’s a completely different story.

Hall is passionate about the United States government and uses her teaching to pass this love along to her students. Every day in class, there is something new and different to do, and the students are always anxious to learn.  Hall believes that the students will comprehend more in a less traditional classroom, and that it’s best to work together .

“I love getting in with the kids and learning with them because I don’t have all the answers and that’s one of my favorite parts,” she said.

Hall has always known that she would be a government teacher.  Her mother encouraged her to become a teacher when she as a child because of her caring personality and enjoyment of learning.

“I loved government, I loved how it worked, and growing up so close to D.C., I saw how it worked,” she said. “When I start to hear about world history I glaze over.”

She finds that teaching an AP class can make it difficult to do everything she would like. Hall says that she sees herself as a teacher who wants the students to really understand the content, but that she has to find a way to balance the deadlines that come with the various standardized tests and FRQs that must be completed in such a rigorous course.

“There was an activity I wanted to do early on this year and I already had to scrap it because I didn’t have time. I had to finish the content from this unit, so I could get to the next unit, and then the next unit to be prepared in time for the exam,” Hall explained.

She said that teaching this class has forced her to be flexible and compensate for anything that takes too long, because the curriculum’s main goal is to get ready for the AP exam. Even with such a structured curriculum, Hall said that educating future voters is extremely significant.

Hall said, “I help to inform the students about the process by which government works, so then they can make their own decisions about politics. So, I hope they are getting more out of it then just getting ready for the test. I want them to look at the bigger picture.”

In the classroom, Hall tries new techniques to make class more enjoyable and collaborative, so that each student can thrive. Instead of the traditional bookwork, she takes learning to the next level with partner work and fun activities to keep the students engaged.

As a former teacher at Rockville High School and Fairmount Heights High School in Prince George’s County, she has found that the students at WJ are particularly motivated and outstanding.

“Everyone is unique and funny [and] it’s different every day, even from class period to class period,” she explained.

Hall thrives off of her students’ enjoyment, which only increases her love and dedication to the topic of the United States government.

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