History is the subject of our past, the world’s successes, the mistakes. Everybody either loves history and is mesmerized by the facts and the past, or is dreading the class and could sleep through every moment. Mrs. Salzman, however, makes history inclusive and fun for everyone. She mixes up her activities and types of teaching so everyone can do something they enjoy.
She attended George Mason for undergrad and Masters. Before teaching, Mrs. Salzman was very interested in journalism. She worked for both her high school and college newspaper.
“I really loved getting to know people and learning about their stories,” she expressed. But she felt like with journalism she didn’t have the chance to really be part of a community. She didn’t want to compete with people over getting a story. But, she had always been captivated by history, so she shifted over to the idea of teaching it.
“I have always really cared about people and cared about kids. I really wanted to use my knowledge of history to help build a community,” she said.
This is her second year teaching at West Potomac and overall has been teaching for 8 years. She took a break for two years due to COVID-19 and her children still being young. Although the break was nice, she missed teaching and having the power to educate the next generation. She deeply cares about her students and enjoys seeing them succeed.
In fact, her students are the people that motivate her to come to school everyday. “I really want to try to make kids feel like they have someone who cares about them and is looking forward to seeing them,” she said.
She loves helping her students and seeing them try their hardest. Her advice for her students is to attend school and try their best.
“Just show up, be here, ” she advised.
Mrs. Salzman is very patient and lets her kids take their time. She gives what she would consider a reasonable amount of time to finish work in class and fair deadlines for projects.
“If you’re worried about work or not being prepared… all the teachers I’ve met here are so kind and caring. It’s better to be here and ask for help than skip class and miss out and get farther behind. My best advice is just be present.”
