As we started the new school year, former middle school teacher Ari Holsten became a new ISC teacher, besides Camilo Hoyos, who has been teaching this course for many years. 

Regardless of the fact that Hoyos and Holsten teach the same subject, they have slightly different ways of teaching. Both have the same purpose, and students surely learn a lot in this class. Not only by theory, but also by experience. While Holsten enjoys teaching this course, his experience has been very different from the one he had in middle school.

“Again, as I said, I came from middle school, and all people in life need routines and depending on the age you are, you need a little bit more structure, or a little less structure. I try to create routines in my class that students know what to do when they come in, and what they’re supposed to be doing during the class, and I think that’s likely my background as a middle school teacher and how it shapes the way I teach,” Holsten said. 

Being a teacher isn’t only about teaching students something. It’s also about being passionate about what you do and putting in some motivation and creativity to it.

“I am a very creative person, and I enjoy that element. I also like the piece of students connecting to communities and trying to bring change as the next generation of changemakers. I think being someone that’s like, don’t get me wrong, like, I know I’m an ICS teacher, but I feel more of like a guide in terms of like, it feels more of like a university course where we’re having this open discussion and I’m not like: do this, read this, you know?” Holsten said.

In Holsten’s class, students don’t only learn through documents. They use various methods, like videos and presentations, to engage in learning and have a more proficient learning experience. This captures students’ attention and motivates them. 

“Ari normally uses Google Slides and videos to explain the topic of the class in a better way. This has helped me by being more engaged in class and understanding what he is teaching perfectly,”Mariana Galindo, senior, said. 

ISC class isn’t only a class where you learn about innovation for making a big social impact. The purpose of this class goes much further and deeper than this. Students get to deepen their connection to society and develop a further sense of empathetic skills.

“This class does not only teach theories. It is also based on applying them to real life, current events, and even our personal experiences. This helps us see the complexity behind social issues.” Galindo said.

ISC class and Ari Holsten are also focused on developing certain skills that are important for life. These include critical thinking, empathy, rational and logical thinking, and thinking outside the box. 

“I definitely have noticed any changes in the way I approach problem-solving since taking his class. I now take more time to understand different sides of an issue before jumping to conclusions. This has also helped me think critically about issues.” Galindo said. 

The biggest project of ISC is the graduation project, in which we choose a social issue, and find a way to improve it through connecting with communities or the part of society that seems affected. It is a big project, and a graduation requirement for all seniors. 

“Recently, we have been working on the ISC project designing the shark tank and also doing a magazine for the ISC piece. We are also planning our public speaking skills in order to present to the sharks. I think this has challenged me because I don’t normally like to speak in public so this has allowed me to have more leadership and public speaking skills,”  Isabel Mejia, senior, said. 

While Camo and Ari teach in a similar way, their pace is slightly different. Both focus on different things and place an emphasis on different parts of the project. Sharing their experience and knowledge with each other is important for the development of this class.

“They should be more aligned because in general, I think Camo has more experience. So whilst Ari sometimes focuses overly on some details that aren’t as important as other parts of the project, I think they should align more.” Mejia said. 

Some students feel that the formatives that they are required to do are not allowing them to fully engage in the ISC, and be able to put all of their effort into this. Some formatives are completely necessary, but some get too far away from the topics.  

“I think that we do tons of unnecessary formatives in which we could use that time to make a better ISC instead of doing those formatives because I don’t think they add anything to our knowledge,” Mejia said.

Camo gives his students the chance to pick their topic, based on their interest, and not his. This allows students to enjoy this class while they learn something that they are engaged and interested in. 

“His teaching style is very interactive and engaging because he’s always asking us questions that he expects an answer from. He also gives us the liberty to choose the topics we want to learn about,” Isabella Ramirez, senior, said.

Furthermore, this course allows students to view their issue from a different perspective than their own. They appreciate how the assignments focus on going beyond the basic learning techniques and how it encourage them to go deeper, reflect, and practice instead of just learning about the topic. 

“We worked a lot with assignments and projects related to the context. For example, the biases, the issues that we have seen in the past or how other people are affected by others’ actions. So, yes.” Ramirez said.

The Ubuntu Park interactive lesson between students made students shift their perspective and trust each other by getting to know themselves better. This was clearly a lesson that stuck with many students in the class. 

“I think the lesson that impacted me the most was the one we did in Ubuntu Park because we got to experience different situations of people who experience biases and things like that,” Ramirez said.

Ari gives students his point of view on their work, making them capable of achieving their goals, and making their assignments be as good as they can be. Some students felt that the personalized feedback was key for their learning experience. 

“Well, he gives me feedback specifically with the assignments. He tells me what I’m not doing right and what I’m doing right. If he doesn’t tell me, I ask him the questions and he will tell me what is good, and what there is to improve, and that’s it,” Cristobal Sierra, senior, said. 

While this class requires more time and more effort than other courses, some students feel like this class has a bigger impact on their lives and on other people’s lives because of its social outcome. It makes it more enjoyable for students to know that they are doing this and putting all of their effort for a good outcome.

“I think the ISC class is pretty different to other classes that I have because I have to work more on the ISC than in the other classes. I think it is more of a rigid or maybe more strict class, which I enjoy and think is very helpful to have an impact,” Sierra said. 

Ari’s teaching technique is helpful for students in this course because it is not a class where they just do the same every day. Holsten keeps the students doing different things, and that makes them hooked in class. 

“Holsten keeps students engaged and motivated, by at the beginning of classes, always doing a warm-up, which makes us answer some questions. He also always puts on a video. We socialize like the answer of the questions, and that is very interesting and very cool to keep me motivated personally,” Sierra said. 

Students have come a long way since the beginning of the year with their ISC projects. This is a graduation requirement that certainly helps students deepen their emotional, social, and interactive skills. However, there are some things to keep in mind when continuing this project for the next few years. Every big task needs improvement, just like this class.  

“I’d love it if students could get started on their projects earlier… I also think it’s important to figure out how to make students in any class work with each other. That is difficult because you have kids running around, asking What did you do? So I would improve on trying to figure out a process where students are in a more organized way recording what they did so that their partners in another class can then continue working on it,” Holsten said.