Schools are nothing without their teachers. They make school inviting, exciting and keep students engaged in the subjects they learn. While sitting in class for an hour and a half may be unexciting, it is the educators who put in the hard work of teaching subjects that will help students succeed in life outside of school. One teacher who has shown great efficiency with their teaching is Kyle Bayer. He has been a part of the Wakefield High community for 10 years and has taught many social studies courses, including Economics and Personal Finance and Lessons of Vietnam.

As a teacher, it is important to keep students intrigued and invested in the topics they are teaching in order to help them succeed. Throughout Bayer’s years of teaching, he has done this and more: leaving a lasting impact on his students through his teaching methods and his willingness to connect with them. 

“I would say the most rewarding part [of teaching] is when I hear from old students and they remember the little things that we went over in class or just small conversations,” Bayer said. “It’s just a reminder that it may not always seem like it on a day-in-day-out level, but we do make a difference over time.”

His past students have seen his teaching style firsthand and have been able to learn thoroughly through it. One student is Nola Fulk, a senior who took his Economics class. She explained how his class has prepared her and her fellow classmates for the future. 

“He wasn’t going through the slides and trying to get through them to get to the assignments; he would really get us involved by talking about real-world experiences that made us all interested in learning about right and wrong choices and how to deal with our money,” Fulk said.

Along with Economics, Bayer teaches a Lessons of Vietnam elective that aims to draw students in with its interesting coursework and ways it is taught. Leo Maturino, a senior who took this class, enjoyed the real-world experiences he and his peers learned alongside the assignments.

“I enjoyed most that [the class] was laid back and [that] he brings in real people from their respective fields to talk with us and give us more perspective,” Maturino said. 

Bayer has been a huge part of the social studies department as well as athletics, coaching the Women’s Flag Football team after long days of teaching. Due to his clear passion for getting involved at Wakefield, he was a top pick when the spot for Social Studies Department Head opened. As Department Head, it is his job to oversee the department as a whole and the teachers in it.

“I’m hoping that we can go ahead also maintain consistency and not have a lot of turnover because ever since the pandemic happened,” Bayer said. “Our Social Studies department has been a little bit of a revolving door and I think it would be good for our department, the students, and just the school overall if we had some familiar faces year in and year out.”

Bayer is ready and determined to create a welcoming environment for teachers and students alike using his new title. His bright and welcoming personality has made a lasting impact on students and teachers alike and is sure to carry on in his classroom as well as the Social Studies department. Fellow Economics teacher, Peyton Thomas, has been able to learn from Bayer and expects him to excel in this new position. 

“I’m excited for him to be the department chair,” Thomas said. “I’m glad he was the one who was offered it, and I look forward to seeing how it’s going to be.”