I was inspired by some of the best teachers who not only cared about their content, but about their students. And the teachers who were able to make students want to learn, made me want to be like them. Kids need good role models. What better place to be a role model than school?

A few years back, I started teaching in a project based format. We ran a presidential election in my AP government class. We had students who were the media, the interest groups, the candidates, the political party and the project came together to elect a president, and the kids had so much fun and learned more about how an election is run and won than most adult adults know now. Students from the younger grades talk about being able to get into my class to do that project.

Food! Food is a great socializer. Many of my final projects have points of sharing what the students are learning. During these times I provide food for the students. For our Meet & Greet in the Elections Project we had pizza. For Mock Congress we have a continental breakfast. On "work Days" we have popcorn, with all the flavors. Students look forward to class, the activities, and the food!