Trentanelli absolutely loves social studies, mainly because she “loves making the most boring subjects in history much more relatable and entertaining to students”. She especially “enjoys the challenge of making a topic feel like the best thing you ever experienced”. Some of Mrs. Trentanelli’s favorite topics in social studies are American History (particularly in the civil war) and World History. American History is especially unique to her because of the many cultures and perspectives portrayed in different societies. It is especially amazing to her how much our modern societies have borrowed from past cultures, something that is constantly shown in world history.

Mrs. Trentanelli describes her first day teaching as a cross between nervous and excited, especially because she was determined to make her first day an exciting experience for both her and her students. According to Mrs. Trentanelli, “teaching gives teachers an opportunity to open people’s eyes and get students to learn something new”. She almost never gets bored of teaching, because “every day is always a new experience, and every year you get a new set of wonderful students”. The only setbacks she experiences while teaching include common problems such as time constraints and short schedules.

Mrs. Trentanelli enjoys teaching both 6th and 8th grade, and each class provided a unique experience for her. One of the best parts of teaching 6th grade for her is that kids in this age group are active, wild, and energetic, something that definitely gets kids more excited. The 8th grade students are more mature and self sufficient, however the experience is bittersweet since it is the students’ last year in the middle school. Overall, she does not believe in giving students homework. “HW does provide good practice, but kids just need time to be kids, go play outside, go enjoy yourself. Sometimes people forget that the most creative thoughts come from kids just being kids.”

Some of Mrs. Trentanelli’s inspirations for teaching include her past teachers, both the good and the bad, allowing her to learn from these teachers. Outside of teaching, Mrs. Trentanelli enjoys running, and a hobby she calls “flipping furniture”, where she takes old furniture and basically “flips it”, turning it into something much creative. But her creative side doesn’t stop there, Mrs. Trentanelli takes it further to create an engaging environment in the classroom. As stated by Mrs. Trentanelli, “kids deserve awesome teachers that love what they do, because if the teacher doesn’t love their job, kids can tell, and that’s not what they deserve”.