“Remember; you’re in charge when you’re up here.”

These words of affirmation pulled the focus to the presenter, as the seated students eagerly equipped themselves with their notebooks and pencils. Mr. Wildermuth made his way to the back of the classroom with his own paper and pencil, ready to take in the new information alongside his students.

“We’re researching [and presenting] different parts of the brain, what they do, where they’re located, and what happens if it’s destroyed,” explains EBHS junior Nancy Moawed. “We also created clay models to represent the parts of the brain we each researched.” These clay pieces will later be assembled into period twelve’s own unique clay model of a specific brain hemisphere.

The class has become an enriching learning environment, thanks to Mr. Wildermuth’s encouraging comments alongside his students, to explore the new content as in depth as he possibly can. “Really, think about all the stuff your brain is doing right now – how hard would life be if you didn’t have a medulla?” Including little questions and comments like the importance of the medulla, or asking “What does autonomic function mean?” during their presentations, takes away any immediate pressure, making it clear that this is an environment where students can learn and grow together. 

Mr. Wildermuth brings an unmatched sense of enthusiasm when teaching his Psychology II Honors class. Based on his students insightful questions about the medulla, it seems that any excitement to hear the bell at 2:12 is overshadowed by a connection to the intriguing, new information about their very own brains. In fact, this drew EBHS senior, Jaileen Perez: “I’m really interested in the human mind and why people are the way they are – it’s fascinating.”

While the content itself proves to be quite thought provoking and eye-opening, the environment  proves to set this class apart from other courses at EBHS. “This class is so interactive; we get to use things like clay to recreate a part of the brain,” Perez reiterates. This unique, hands-on approach allows for all students to be a part of a collaborative learning process.