ESK Voices: Cam Basden
Our culture of lifelong learning begins with our faculty. We hire teachers who are experts in their subject area and passionate about sharing their knowledge with students. We then commit to their professional development to assure they are always expanding their knowledge base in both their subject area and how to best engage students in the classroom. Students can feel the authenticity of their teachers’ interest in them and their subject. Our culture of trust, honesty, integrity, and close faculty/student relationships creates an atmosphere of safety and personal well-being where extraordinary learning takes place. In our ESK Voices series, you will get a unique look at the faculty that make ESK what it is.
Today, we continue with a teacher who has been at ESK for 3 years, Middle School Social Studies and P.E. teacher Cam Basden.
See below for more from Cam.
What is your favorite part of the school day and why?
My favorite part of the school day would probably be P.E. I’m a P.E. teacher and I really enjoy seeing the kids run around playing sports they may not have played before. I was also the soccer coach last year and I tend to incorporate soccer into my P.E. The kids generally like to play things that they don’t normally play during recess.
How do you incorporate your personal interests into your teaching methods or activities?
One unique activity I do with my 7th grade Model UN class is when we wrap the unit up I have my students write a zombie apocalypse survival guide based on their assigned country. They have to research resources, research population density, research topography- all the things that would go into surviving a zombie apocalypse… I like zombies.
What aspect of teaching at ESK are you most passionate about?
Well, I’m a son of an Episcopal priest, I grew up in the Episcopal Church, and I went to an Episcopal boarding school. So being able to be a part of this type of community and to be able to educate in this type of community is a privilege and an honor for me.
When did you decide to become a teacher and why did you make that decision?
I decided to become a teacher about a year into working as an accountant for luxury hotels. Out of college I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I was sitting in my office one day computing numbers and I said to myself, “I don’t want to be doing this, I want to be in a classroom,” and here I am.
What day during the school year do you look forward to the most and why?
Actually, it’s funny you mention that, my favorite day hasn’t happened yet. We have a day in April where we bring members of the community who have lived through the Vietnam and Civil Rights era to campus. We will introduce them to our faculty and have them see what ESK is all about. Then, our 8th graders will interview those individuals about their time living in that era. You get to see a side of the kids you’ve never seen before and you get to bring people to ESK who may have never seen the school.
Do you have a child/story which captures something you believe makes ESK special?
Yeah, I do. My class was doing a unit on primary and secondary sources and one of my students brought in an actual uniform from his great-great-grandfather, who wore it in WWI. That was really cool because he was so passionate about bringing it in to show the other students. It’s that passion that our kids have that I like to see and so I try to provide them with avenues to express that.