On April 23, several of Miami Palmetto Senior High’s seniors got to step into their favorite teachers’ shoes. At MPSH, it is tradition for the graduating class students to engage with their peers by teaching class for a day. While the main purpose is for the seniors to make memories, it can also help them with learning the subject and making the lesson especially entertaining for their classmates.
“I want to do engineering in college, and a lot of math related stuff when I grow up, so [Mrs. Tuttle’s] been a big part of my career at Palmetto,” senior Jack Proulx said. “I’ve had her for the last two years, and she’s been one of the most influential teachers I’ve ever had.”
Proulx took over teaching Tuttle’s Honors Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC classes for the day. Several of Tuttle’s students wished to take over for her, so she used an online random name generator and Proulx was chosen.
“[Mrs. Tuttle] really helped me understand the way that math relates to real life. It’s pretty often that I’ll ask her when we’ll ever use things and she actually has a real answer, which is something that I can’t say for a lot of math teachers. So, it’s really nice to see that a teacher can relate what we’re learning to us,” Proulx said. “Most teachers just kind of want you to know that they’re in charge and they leave it at that, but she tries to relate to us as much as she can.”
Another way the seniors become their chosen teacher for the day is by mimicking their outfits.
“Anyone who has Tuttle knows that every Friday she always wears a math shirt – just something funny to joke with us and get us to smile. The first thing I did was go out and find a shirt about the amount of watermelons that people buy and that was my outfit for the day,” Proulx said.
Proulx’s shirt read “MATH: The Only Place Where People Buy 69 Watermelons and No One Wonders Why.”
Additionally, seniors are welcome to take over administrative jobs. This year, several members of MPSH’s administration including Principal Mrs. Dobbs, Vice Principals Mr. Tellechea and Dr. Hunter, and Activities Director Mrs. Valero had their own “shadow” for the day.
“I chose [Mrs. Valero] for senior takeover because I’m one of her Chiefs of Staff, which is basically her assistant and right-hand person,” senior Kylie Zimelman said. “I’m basically just an extension of her, and being her is technically what we do every day for Student Council, so it was perfect.”
To participate in senior takeover, students filled out a form stating their name, which teacher they wish to take over for, a plan for what they will “teach” that day, and the teacher’s signature.
