LOUISIANA
William (Bill) Beachy ’78
8th grade history/geography teacher, Metairie Park Country Day School

Bill Beachy (M.A. ’78) often uses photos in his classes, something he learned from a professor at UMKC. Back then, they used slides. Today, he uses an iPad.

Beachy is a history and geography teacher at a college prep school in Metairie, La. Although technology has changed significantly since he started teaching, Beachy says the most important lessons never change: time management, persistence and the satisfaction of a job well done.

“It may be a little more difficult now to get students to look at the world outside and to make their own independent observations now that digital technology has become so fascinating, and now we assume all answers are just the swipe of a finger away,” he says. “At the same time, our students find they appreciate our wilderness trip — without cell phones!”

In his teaching, Beachy has a lofty goal — helping students appreciate the world around them, as well as the people in it.

“The most important lessons my students can learn are not the details of history and geography, but the importance of the broad sweep of the human story, our interactions with one another and the planet which sustains us.”

A keen sense of curiosity is nothing new for Beachy. At seven years old, he would pore over the atlas on his family’s yearly trips from Kansas City to Ontario. Once they arrived, he would explore distant parts of the lakes by canoe and sailboat.

Now, Beachy says, he tries to teach his students about the “surprises” that lie in the world around them.

“When I look at them I want them to see the ridiculous and the ironic, as well as the sublime and inspiring. I want them to learn about people all over the world so they can appreciate how truly complex and fascinating we humans are.”