Written by Riley Snyder.
Students stare at the clock non stop, wishing the hour to end, all while drowning out the teacher’s passionless words with thoughts of the school day ending. This scene happens far too often in the classroom. Yet, in the blink of an eye, atmosphere can change. A teacher catches the students’ attention. They’re suddenly engaged and desire to learn about the topic at hand. Engagement and focus is what social studies teacher Nate Lisenbee brings to the classroom.
Lisenbee went to college at Aquinas college and he taught at Comstock Park for five years prior to coming to the high school. Lisenbee has been at the high school for a total of three years, he loves working with students and is passionate about teaching how the past connects to the present.
“I think history is one of the most important topics because it is the most misunderstood,” Lisenbee said. “Schools focus on math and reading, and they should, but history is one of those things that helps you understand the world and what’s going on now.”
Lisenbee had a hard time deciding what to do professionally in life. His dad was a teacher. Lisenbee initially felt he needed to chart his own path, so he did everything in his power to avoid teaching.
“[When] I went to college, [teaching] wasn’t even on my radar,” Lisenbee said. “I worked five years at other jobs I hated and couldn’t quite find what I wanted to do, and then I eventually found teaching. There was a lot of trial and error.”
Getting hired was not Lisenbee’s first experience at Northview.
“I student taught here with Mark Spetoskey when he was a history person instead of a physical education person,” Lisenbee said. “Then I went to Comstock Park for about five years, and an opportunity came up to come back. I thought it’d be great because I had a great experience here.”
Lisenbee sees a difference between our students and those at other districts.
“I like Northview. It’s a good place and there seems to be a higher percentage of motivated and involved kids,” Lisenbee said. “There’s lots of opportunities for kids to do things [at the school]. There’s good people here.”
Brent Dickerson, the vice principal of the high school, hired Lisenbee. Dickerson thinks that hiring Lisenbee was a great decision.
“[He] wants to help kids and make a positive impact on a kid’s life,” Dickerson said. “In his interview that exuded from him, he expressed that.”
Dickerson knows Lisenbee’s success is connected to his personality.
“He has a nice calm demeanor about him, which is also a good trait to have for a teacher,” Dickerson said.
Nora Brackley is a past student of Lisenbee. Brackley really loved Lisenbee’s classroom and the environment he set.
“He has a fun presence,” Brackley said. “He’s fun to be around and he’s relatable to everyone else.”
Lisenbee has had a long and bumpy road to becoming a teacher. It was all worth it. He is a cherished teacher.