OXFORD, Miss. – During her eight years of teaching, Lafayette High School teacher Sally Quong, has discovered that leading her students through a history lesson sometimes means engaging the drama first and the dates second.
“I try to teach history like it’s a soap opera,” said Quong, who also is finishing a master’s degree in social studies education at the University of Mississippi. “I believe that, with history, you have to tell a story so the students will understand it; you have to make them laugh and engage it. If you can have a sense of humor in your tactics, the students learn more. To be honest, there are days when I feel more like a stand up comedian than a history teacher.”
Sally Quong
Quong’s teaching philosphy is just one of the qualities that earned the Chicago native the honor of July Student of the Month at the UM School of Education.
“Sally is an excellent role model for our graduate and undergraduate students,” said Ellen Foster, assistant professor of teacher education and the faculty member who nominated Quong for the honor. “She balances the stress of teaching a subject area to help students meet test score requirements and the civic responsibility of teaching students to think independently and critically.”
Quong’s high energy level helps bring out her 11th-grade students’ enthusiasm for history. She frequently uses games, accents and YouTube videos, and incorporates a variety of hand motions to explain concepts.
“Say we’re learning about labor unions,” Quong said. “I explain there are three things unions are always interested in. When I say ‘higher wages,’ the whole class gives each other a big thumbs-up, when I say ‘less hours,’ they turn their thumbs down, and when I say ‘better working conditions’ we all wave our arms in the sweeping Temptations-style dance motion. I see the students doing these same motions while they take the test.”
A National Board Certified Teacher by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards since 2009, Quong is set to graduate in August. She spent the last three years working parttime toward her master’s since finishing her NBCT, a credential that brought her a $6,000 raise from the state.
“I went through the national boards so I could afford to go to graduate school,” she said. “But seriously, the program forces you to evaluate who you are as a teacher and explain why you do what you do as a teacher.”
A second-generation teacher, Quong began her career in 2004 at South Panola High School in Batesville, where she began teaching history after completing her student teaching there. She later taught at Lafayette Middle School and, since gaining her NBCT, has moved into her current position at Lafayette High School.
For more information, visit the School of Education, go to http://education.olemiss.edu/.