Another year, another new IB Coordinator. This one hopes to stay awhile.
Mr. David Whisker also teaches two sessions of the Theory of Knowledge class to go along with his duties as IB Coordinator.
Whisker replaced a position that stayed open last year and was performed by Mr. Travis Krause and assistant principal Ms. Bridget Koehler.
Students should know a few things about Whisker. He considers himself to be very formal and he thinks he does a good job of explaining difficult concepts.
Junior IB student Sam Patrick said,“ He is one of the better teachers I’ve had at explaining things and helping you understand things.”
Patrick said another thing he has learned about Whisker is that he is very funny and that he does many accents.
Although this is his first year at West, Whisker has a lot of experience.
”I taught in the IB program and I taught Theory of Knowledge for 13 years, so I have some background experience and expertise in some IB stuff. So it is a good fit for me personally right now to be in role of a coordinator position but also have one foot still in the classroom,” Whisker said.
In past years he also taught multiple literature classes. He enjoys teaching TOK and connecting different courses together through horizontal integration. An example of Horizontal Integration in school is making connections between all your classes and understanding how things you’re learning in science class connect to things you may be learning in math or art.
One of his goals is to see vertical integration in the school. He said, “I want the 9th grade teachers to know what they want their students to be able to know and do at the end of the year so that the 10th grade teachers can pick up from where they left off.”
Two of Whisker’s biggest goals will take some time to happen. He wants to get more students into the IB program. Once they’re there, he wants them to stay. His second main goal is to get West authorized to house the IB Career-related program.
