Meet Anne Sweeney (BA,'15, history), a social studies and English teacher at Oswego High School. She has taught a range of courses in her 10 years at Oswego, including AP Psychology, World Cultures, and U.S. History. Sweeney credits her strong critical thinking skills and being an effective communicator to her degree in history. Read on for a Q&A to learn more about Sweeney's career.
Why did you decide to pursue a degree in history?
In elementary school, I was obsessed with watching documentaries on the History Channel and borrowing history and historical fiction books from the library. However, it was my fantastic Social Studies teachers both in Middle and High School that really inspired me to pursue a history degree to teach the subject. From learning about ancient cultures in 6th grade to AP U.S. History, I loved it all and wanted to inspire students the way my own teachers inspired me.
Did you pursue higher education after undergrad?
I have a master’s degree in psychology from Arizona State University. This was an online program while I worked full time as a high school social studies teacher. Although my MS is in a totally different discipline, I believe my history degree helped me develop my critical thinking and writing skills that are essential in any subject area.
What was your first job after college?
My first job after college was teaching Modern World History and Psychology at Oswego High School in Oswego, IL
What is your current career and how does your degree in history inform your work?
I am still working at Oswego High School and am in year 10 of my teaching career. Over the course of these last 10 years, I have taught many different subjects including Modern World History, AP Psychology, World Cultures, US History, and even English. Besides being knowledgeable about content, I believe my degree in history also helped me become an effective communicator, which is essential in the classroom.
What do you enjoy about your work?
I love working with students and trying to convince them that history is fun! Seeing students making a connection with history or the social sciences is super gratifying.
What does a typical workday look like for you? What is the most interesting aspect of your job?
A typical workday for me involves teaching 5 classes, a supervision duty period, a plan period, and a lunch period. Right now, I am teaching 3 sections of AP Psychology and 2 sections of junior year English. I am also a co-sponsor for Student Council and facilitate online courses for students in the district, so occasionally I will have one of those activities after school. Each day is scheduled the same, but you never know what to expect, which is what makes the job most interesting. I love having a set daily schedule and routine but also knowing those 48-minute class periods are going to be a little bit different every time, especially with the element of having 32 adolescents in the room.
What advice do you have for students interested in pursuing work in your field?
It can be challenging to find a position teaching social studies, especially since so many courses are electives where numbers fluctuate year to year. My advice is to try and obtain multiple endorsements to make yourself more marketable. Having the ability to teach another subject allows you to apply for more jobs and that flexibility is beneficial. While at Illinois, I took extra courses to obtain psychology, English, political science, and anthropology endorsements. These have allowed me to teach several different classes which I have really enjoyed and helped me stay employed. Also, it might go without saying, but if you do not like children, this is not the profession for you. At the end of the day, if you do not enjoy adolescents, you will not enjoy your career.
What is your proudest achievement?
Besides graduating from Illinois, my proudest achievement is still being a teacher after 10 years in the classroom and hearing from former students that they decided to study history or psychology because of one of my classes.
by Eva Grein