An introduction to one of Beverly’s history teachers, Mr. Pete Van Rossum.
Mr. Van Rossum grew up in Orange County, attending a public high school. At a younger age, Mr. Van Rossum, a now very kind and smart man, was a bit of a rebel and didn’t take much serious in the ways he does now.
It was around his high school years where Mr. Van Rossum decided he wanted a career path in history, but it wasn’t until college that Mr. Van Rossum got serious in becoming an educator in the field.
“If you told me in high school that I was going to be a teacher, I would have never believed it. I hated high school. After goofing around a little bit I got serious about education in college and became a history major. I really liked the environment, depth and overall thought it was a good job,” Mr. Van Rossum shared.
Covering American Government/Economics and AP European History for seniors and sophomores, when asked what made him get into history, Mr. Van Rossum stated, “I was never a math person. I’ve always had an attraction to history and reading nonfiction. It was the subject that clicked for me in school.”
Mr. Van Rossum is not only a kind hearted individual, but also an amazing and hard working teacher. Putting a lot of effort into his lesson plans, and making sure his students not only receive a lot of information, but really understand it. His way of teaching really allows students the opportunity to learn and grow their knowledge of his classes and grow and maintain their grade in a non-stressful manner.
He is also very supportive of extra curricular activities of students. He allows his classroom to be used for multiple different clubs of students. This is very important and kind to allow students to show their potential and creativity for something they love other than academics. It also gives the chances for students who aren’t club owners to explore new things in joining clubs.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do in high school. I would think to myself about what I’m going to do?” Mr. Van Rossum said.
He feels it’s very normal for high school students to not know what they will pursue in college or wherever they choose to go after graduation.
“You definitely want to focus on your education and skills. Never miss an opportunity to learn something, because knowledge, whether it’s a skill, degree or university degree, gives you more options,” Van Rossum advised.