Today on the show, Howie and Ryan welcome a wonderful educator that harnesses his passion for Disney into incredible classroom projects that ignite the creativity in his students. Our guest is Mr. Tim VanSwol, Tim began his teaching career in 1994 at Manteno Middle School and has been there ever since. His first classroom assignment was 8th grade Science which he did for six years. In the year 2000, he made the move to teaching 6th grade Social Studies in addition to Science. After a few years, his school population grew to a point he needed to become a full-time Social Studies teacher. This was a great move for him as he is a history enthusiast and enjoys the challenge of bringing history to life for his students.
In addition to teaching, Mr. VanSwol has embraced his love for sports as a coach and as the Middle School Athletic Director over the years. He has coached girls and boys basketball at various grade levels as well as coaching Middle school track and field. Tim is also a lover of music and enjoys volunteering his time as a supporter of Manteno Bands, Chorus, and Show Choirs. During his free time, he enjoys reading, traveling, and researching topics for the DubDeeDub Revue podcast as an amateur Disney historian.
You’re going to love hearing about Tim’s passion for Disney and how he has taken that passion and developed several Disney themed projects that have inspired his students to plunge into the magic of History and ELA. Tim discusses three of his best projects and talks us through what inspired them. He also walks us through how he implemented them into his course work and how they deliver the content to his students in a highly impactful way. Today’s show is just another example of the incredible educators out there and how Disney is helping them to bring magic to their classrooms.
In today’s episode of My Disney Class Podcast, Ryan and Howie discuss the theming of some of our favorite places to eat on Walt Disney World property and how they can inspire us to learn. Who doesn’t like to eat at places like Casey’s Corner and Columbia Harbor House but did you know that there are more than hotdogs and fish to enjoy in these establishments? When you stop and take a break from the hustle and bustle, you can find the little details and story that the Imagineers have diligently and purposely placed there for you to find. When you do find these details that help tell the story, the story will often envolve the history of our wonderful country or other cultures from around the world. It is these artifacts that will lead educators to a brand new world of learning.
Howie and Ryan will show that when you take inspiration from these artifacts, you will find yourself inspired to bring some wonderful lesson planning back to your students. Ryan and Howie will also share how they looked at the theming of some of the restaurants and then how they found resources online to help support bring that inspiration back into the classroom. So grab a snack, turn on the podcast, and then find some inspiration in some of the magical eateries that we love at WDW!