Impacting the Classroom

As an educator who loves her job and her students, Alyssa (Gronewold) Larsen ’10 couldn’t be happier with her current stage of life.

Alyssa (Gronewold) Larsen ’10
Teacher, Waconia (Minn.) High School

How long have you worked at your current school?

I'm going into my sixth year at Waconia High School. I primarily teach human geography, which is for 10th-12th graders, and I also teach AP world history. It’s nice because I teach all levels. I think it’s really cool to have a wide range of kids.

What are some of the best parts of being a teacher?

I get to form connections with the students. I always say I like history, but I LOVE teaching. I love being able to get kids excited about learning and help them make connections between their own lives and the past or even another part of the world. On another note, it’s important to remember that everyone is going through stuff. Everyone has tough times. A support system isn’t always there for some students, so to be able to provide support for them is super rewarding.

Another cool aspect is that there’s no day that’s ever the same. Right now, I have three sections of human geography, so I’ll teach the same lesson with each section but the interactions are never the same. The kids have different questions, different vibes, and some kids will find my jokes to be funny. I’m never bored at work. Even though this job can be difficult, the rewards are amazing. Everyone can think of a teacher that’s impacted them in a positive way and the fact that I get to try really hard to be that support system for a student is pretty remarkable.

What are some of the challenges of the job?

You’re always going to have students you can’t reach. You can’t always connect with them or what they’re going through. It’s hard when I don’t have the expertise to teach them or that my style of teaching doesn’t work for them. It’s hard to have a lesson and look in the eyes of a kid and see that they’re not understanding the content or even wanting to understand it. It’s a lot of work if you want to be creative too. I’ll spend hours and hours on lessons and sometimes they don’t work. They flop. On the flipside, you CAN reach kids for the majority of the time. There’s both pros and cons to each day.

What is your philosophy of education?

For me, it’s about making kids feel valued and heard and respected in my room. It doesn’t matter what your cultural background is. It doesn’t matter what your first language is. If they feel like they’re in an environment where they can think for themselves and speak for themselves, then I’ve done my job.

How do your social studies classes challenge your students as future leaders?

You can create projects that will bring out the leadership in students, but my goal is always to focus on perspective. I feel like one of the best qualities of a leader is to understand perspectives that are outside of your own. I work extremely hard to teach history from multiple vantage points. In geography, we talk a lot about ethnocentrism, which is the idea that you view your own culture as better than someone else’s. I always preach to my students that if you remember nothing from my class, I want you to know what the word means and NOT to take part in ethnocentrism. Your way of life isn’t the only way or the right way. My job as a teacher is to help train them to be thinkers and to be empathetic. It’s not just about turning in assignments.

Why do you think the liberal arts are important?

It’s important that people develop outside of what their careers are going to be. This is in order to be more holistic. My husband and I, for example, were not music majors. We were able to enjoy music, however, and we took part in it as a hobby during our time at Concordia. Generally, I feel like there’s this emphasis on your job throughout society, which is great, but what about the rest of your life? It’s so important for people to have hobbies and to understand different perspectives. I think the liberal arts helped me to be more humble and empathetic in general.

What piece of advice would you give to a student about to graduate?

For high schoolers, I often tell them that it’s important to figure out your priorities first. What are you hoping to get out of the college experience? For me, I was lucky to have previous teachers who are Cobber alumni and they encouraged me to think about Concordia. Ask yourself, what kind of school community do you want? If you want to see a familiar face as you walk down the street, then Concordia is perfect for you. If you just want to be a number, go to a bigger school.

For Cobbers about to graduate, I would tell them to not be afraid to be excited about a job and show that to an employer. It’s awkward but, at least in education, going and introducing yourself goes a long way. Additionally, it’s important to be ready to do the work because you will have more opportunities the harder you work. Please put yourself out there and don’t do the bare minimum.

This is related to the liberal arts as well: find connections somewhere. Put yourself out there and try to meet people. Perhaps connect with other Cobbers. If you were in music, then go find a community choir or band. In all honesty, going out into the real world is a little bit of a culture shock and I often tell my husband how much I miss Anderson Commons and the comfort of campus because, well, college is AWESOME. Regardless, it’s crucial to find connections wherever you go. It’ll make the transition out of college easier and it’s gonna be fine. Great things happen after college.

How has Concordia made an impact on your life?                       

Concordia helped me figure out what my passions are. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but it helped me realize that this is going to be something that I love to do. Most days, it is NOT just a job. I genuinely find myself in my class thinking, “I just LOVE this job.” I met amazing individuals and connected with people who don’t have the same major as me. I met lifelong friends and even had close relationships with the faculty. I enjoyed the huge support system within the culture of Concordia too. I don’t know if I would have made as many connections at another college. My best friend is my twin sister and is also a social studies teacher, so because we had the same education at Concordia we’ve grown into similar teaching styles, which allows us to connect and bond more.

How did you feel about being nominated as Minnesota Teacher of the Year?

I was nominated by a colleague and two students. I felt like being nominated and making it as a finalist is validation that not only my colleagues but my students can see how much I love teaching. The fact that these two students felt strong enough in me and my teaching to recommend me for this honor is really cool. It’s the benefit I have in teaching high schoolers because they’re old enough to do that. It’s really validating. I don’t believe I’m necessarily deserving because I have so many colleagues who are way more deserving, but it was a huge honor and very humbling. I got to meet 11 other finalists, which is so cool because I love meeting others who feel the same way I do about what it means to be a teacher.

^{Published July 2018}