October Teacher Feature: Alex Fries

After last month’s inaugural Teacher Feature came out, I was hoping that eventually I’d get nominations from others for future Teachers to feature. So you can imagine my excitement when, almost right away, I received this message:

“Hello there! Our Latin teacher LOVES Gimkit and would be a perfect person to feature!”

So, with help and inspiration from Lauren Richardson, I found my way to Alex Fries. Alex is a 6th and 7th grade Latin Teacher at Indian Hill Middle School in Cincinnati Ohio. I later found out that Lauren had introduced Alex to Gimkit, so it seemed fitting that she also introduced me to Alex.

And, just as Lauren had inspired Alex to use Gimkit, and then inspired me to reach out to Alex, Alex then inspired me to learn some Latin!

“My goal is to make learning Latin accessible to each and every student. I think sometimes Latin has this reputation of being a language that is only for certain students. I hear some say that Latin is either “too hard” or “only useful for law and medical students”; I completely disagree with these notions”

I’ll be honest, I had a similar mindset. I hadn’t ever explored Latin, so I assumed there wasn’t much in it for me.

I was wrong! I discovered so many insightful and meaningful Latin phrases thanks to Alex’s inspiration!

Phrases like “Ad astra per aspera,” meaning “to the stars through adversity.’ (Shout out to Buzz Lightyear 😉🚀👩‍🚀).

I also found some great Latin phrases that sum up Alex’s awesomeness!

👩‍🎓 Haec est domus discipulis omnibus

This is a place for every student

Alex’s deepest passion in educating and ultimate goal is to make his classroom as welcoming place for all.

“School wasn’t always something that came easy to me even though I love to learn. Because of this, I spend a lot of time making sure that my classroom is a place for all students and one where all students have the opportunity to be successful.”

This starts with Alex’s efforts to get to know all of his students. While this isn’t always easy, it does have a lasting impact on his students; and valued learners value learning.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 Lingua Latina omnibus

Latin for Everyone

“Studying Latin and the ancient world has so many useful applications in today’s world, that I can’t possibly discuss them all here. Learning Latin and about the ancient world has for sure changed my life. Because of this, I love sharing my passion with students with the hope that Latin will be as useful to them as it has been for me. I firmly believe that Latin is and should be available to everyone!”

In the same way that Alex makes it a priority to get to know his students, he also makes it a priority that they get to know Latin in a way that is meaningful to them. It’s no simple task to make Latin accessible and inclusive, but Alex’s passion drives his success!

📚 Discipuli discunt faciendo

Engaging students

When asked how he discovered Gimkit, Alex replied,

“I’m always looking for new ways to engage my students in the classroom, I was excited to give Gimkit a try; my students loved it. It got to the point where students would come to class every day and ask if we were playing Gimkit. They sure were disappointed when that answer was “no”.

I think this speaks to the awesome, caring educator Alex Fries is. He knows how to meet his students where they are and explores way to engage them in the curriculum. Sure, Gimkit can be an engaging activity, but engaging educators are what brings it to life!

🎮 Hīc discimus ludendo

Learning through Gaming

What does Alex love best about Gimkit, you ask?

“Gimkit is one of the most engaging activities that I have done with my students. Obviously, Gimkit gives students the opportunity to work with vocabulary but I absolutely love the strategy aspect of it. Students have to maneuver through the game to figure out the best way to optimize their chances of winning. Team-mode is great because they have to collaborate with their classmates to figure out the best way to win.”

I couldn’t agree more! Teamwork makes the dream work, and it’s an honor to know that Gimkit helps make collaboration a little more possible in the classroom, which helps Alex make Latin a more inclusive subject!

After taking this stroll through Alex’s world and the world of Latin, I have two wishes. I wish that Latin had been offered in my school, and I wish I had an awesome educator like Alex to teach it to me.

🙏 Gratias tibi ago, Alex!

(psst… that means Thank you 😉)

Alex’s Gimkit Tips and Tricks

As a language teacher, I started using Gimkit to review vocabulary. Recently, I’ve started introducing new vocabulary in Gimkit that I want students to see before we begin a new unit.

The reports in Gimkit are excellent! It’s very easy to see students’ progress as they work with the vocabulary.

If you know an amazing educator (teacher, prinicipal, librarian, etc) who would be a great fit for a future Teacher Feature, email kelli@gimkit.com