Social studies teacher Shannon McCloskey sits back as the week of the Congress simulation begins in her AP Gov class. She watches students get into their roles as state representatives and compromise with each other to get bills passed.
“I like watching as students take on a more active role,” McCloskey said.
McCloskey has been teaching for eight years and has been at Palatine for seven of those years. This year, she’s teaching AP Gov, Civics and Women’s Studies.
“I went to the University of Iowa for undergrad and I started off actually as a pre-med major,” McCloskey said. “But then I ended up switching my major and I doubled majored in history and secondary education and then I got a minor in political science.”
Throughout school, social studies classes have always interested McCloskey, especially political science classes. Switching her major to history naturally brought her down the education path.
“I knew that I wanted some sort of career that was going to be something different every day,” McCloskey said. “I knew that I wouldn’t be very good at sitting at a desk or punching numbers into a spreadsheet or anything.”
Toward the end of college, she still wasn’t 100% sure she wanted to be a teacher. Once she started student teaching though, she knew for sure that this is what she wanted to do.
“She makes sure that you actually know what you’re doing and explains why an answer is what it is,” senior Izzy Steinbach said. “She also makes class more engaging. With the Congress simulation we just did, I know how Congress works and how bills get passed a lot better than before. And it was fun because it wasn’t your typical sit and lecture for 50 minutes.”
Outside of school, McCloskey likes to spend a lot of time with her family. With her 20-month-old daughter and another baby on the way, she describes it as being in her “mom era.”
“My family and my daughter [motivate me] and just providing a good life for her,” McCloskey said. “I want to make sure that she feels like she can do whatever she wants in life but I also want to make sure that I’m able to provide her life where she doesn’t live with a bunch of financial stress.”
McCloskey talked about how she’s passionate about being a good mom and being there for her daughter like her mom was for her. She’s very close with her mom and looks up to her.
“She’s there for me and anyone around her all the time,” McCloskey said. “She’s the kind of person that if you’re down on your luck, she will help you out. She will quite literally give someone the shoes off of her feet if they need them.”
