CHARTERS Stacie Wheeler teaches the importance of history

Meet Stacie Wheeler , IB Diploma Programme history teacher at Longview High School. Mrs. Wheeler teaches juniors the History of the Americas, a course in which students “do comparative studies of the US and other American states.” For example, she says, “When we study the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and World War II, they complete a comparative analysis of the impact of that event on the US and Canada or Mexico or another selected nation.” As seniors, students take History of World Topics, “which is basically “the history of the world through war [in the 20th century],” including World War I, the Spanish Civil War, the rise of fascist governments in Germany, Italy, and Japan, the Cold War, and ending with the Vietnam War. The course doesn’t include World War II because “it’s just too much and IB doesn’t require it.” In both classes, Mrs. Wheeler covers US government and economics in such depth that students receive credit for those two typically senior-level courses.

Early in the school year, Mrs. Wheeler tells her students that “history is hard; it’s a lot... and if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.” She regularly embeds memes and funny pictures in her lessons. On Mondays, they have “Monday

Punday,” and on Tuesdays, they have “Terrible Joke Tuesdays.” Since her students are on an A-Day/B-Day schedule, they can count on “having a joke the first day of the week.” On occasion, they depart from serious study to “have a good time,” like decorate cookies with the face of an historical figure (if they so choose). She also shares cocoa, tea, and chocolate with them.

Of the IB Learner Profile Traits, Mrs. Wheeler values inquirer the most because, “If you don’t ask ‘why,’ history is dead. As long as we’re coming up with new answers to questions, then history is still alive and evolving.” Inquirer also applies as students do research; they must learn how to discern valid sources. She says, “History is built on