T.C. Welcomes a New Social Studies and Psychology Teacher
Leigh Welther
Bernadette Desario joins T.C.’s teaching staff as a Social Studies and Advanced Placement Psychology teacher. This will be her 15th year teaching.
Desario grew up in Chicago in the small suburban town of Yorkville. Despite being a social studies teacher, in high school, Desario’s favorite subject was science because it was hands on. Desario’s high school did not provide a psychology course so she she was not able to learn about take that until college. Desario originally wanted to be a high school counselor but her college advisor suggested that she should start teaching first. Since she loved it so much she decided to continue teaching..
At the University of Indiana Desario majored in secondary education and received her undergraduate. Afterwards, she attended the American College of Education and majored in curriculum and instruction. Desario lived in Chicago and worked in Chicago public schools at Kelvyn Park High School for 7 years before moving to D.C. Public schools (DCPS). In DCPS she worked at Coolidge High School for three years and then Eastern Senior High School for four years,totaling of seven years of teaching experience.
What hooked her on teaching was working with students and being able to watch them become successful, “it is the most rewarding job you could ask for”Desario says. The psychology and history classes she took in college inspired her to teach those subjects to high school students. Desario enjoys teaching high school students because they have great insight; they have the ability to look at things differently than adults and bring new light to issues. She also likes being able to form relationships with her students,“High school students also give me great hope for the future of our country.”
Desario decided to come work at T.C. because she really enjoyed living in the area while she worked in DCPS. “Speaking with alumni of T.C. they are always so proud of their school”, says Desario. This school year, Desario’s daughter started kindergarten through APCP, she said, “It’s an amazing community! Where else can you work with 3,000 young people from so many different backgrounds in one place?” She loves the supportive T.C. staff and is amazed by the resources that are offered by T.C. in the variety of classes, clubs and sport teams. But Desario’s favorite part would be that the diverse T.C. population can all come together to work as one and she is proud to be a part of that.
Some advice from Desario to her students is “make sure you are a well rounded individual. It is important to pay attention and work hard in classes, but also use this time to find your interests in life, join a club, or a sport, intern at different jobs.”
