Students and faculty can all agree that if you’re having a bad day and you’re lucky to hear the sound of social studies teacher Dana Kanwischer‘s laugh in the halls as she walks to law, sociology, or U.S. history class, your day has officially been made 1000 times better.
Little do students know that Mrs. Kanwischer has been teaching at Niles West for twenty two years. Her time at West has brought smiles to students faces, an inspiration to learn, and most importantly fun to the class.
Senior Sarah Bujdei, her time with Mrs. Kanwischer during her freshmen says, “I never really liked social studies to begin with, but Mrs. K taught so well and always kept me interested about what she had to say about what she was teaching. She always believed in me that I could do anything as long as I try my best at it. There were some days that I walked into her class not having a good day but she knew how to put a smile on my face.”
Teaching was something Kanwischer knew she wanted to do at a young age and looking back she has enjoyed every year of it.
“What inspired me to being a teacher was enjoying my history class at Maine East. I knew my senior year that this is what I wanted to do. Overall, I loved high school and wanted to continue to work with students. Being with kids, teaching students about the subject I loved sounded like such a fun job.”
Current and past students can agree that this unconditional passion for teaching that Mrs. Kanwischer has can be seen and acknowledge the minute she walks into her class. Currently in Kanwischer’s Law class, senior Delanie Kwiecinski said,“Everyday we have a new person tell us what is going on in the news and she uses those stories to help us understand the terms. Using the incidents we know about and are current things in the media helps us to remember the terms and to understand them.”
Mrs. Kanwischer wants students to be able to enjoy their learning, have fun and be intrigued by the relationship with current events and the world around to their studies in class. But not only does she believe that students should learn, but teachers as well.
“Teachers can learn a lot from their students. I absolutely love hearing students comment and tell stories. This job has really been fun and with an open heart you can be inspired by a lot these students have to offer.”
The best part of her day begins in class with the students. It’s not only that you feel this way while sitting in one of her classes or popping into her office to interview her for an article you want to write. You can see her attitude permeate through her past and present students and their work. Mrs. Kanwischer is a remarkable example of a great teacher that faculty can look up to. With an open heart, motivation to teach, and a great sense of humor she has impacted the hearts of future nurses, engineers, U.S. history teachers and more.
