Few teachers at the high school are as tenured as Paul Young, history teacher. Young has been a teacher for 35 years, all of which spent teaching history at Spring Hill. 

“I love history. I grew up listening to stories my grandpa would tell. I knew I was supposed to be in the classroom. I balked at it at first, I kind of resisted it. I [pursued] a year going down the business path but I always knew where I was supposed to be, and that is where I have been the last 35 years,” Young said.

In Young’s teaching career he has developed, in many ways, a unique teaching style. One of the more nuanced ways in which Young’s classroom differs from most, is his seating arrangement. The seats in his classroom are split down the middle facing each other. This divide forms an aisle down the middle of the classroom. Young finds this arrangement to serve best to a lecture-heavy subject like history. This is also his path to an important tool in any social studies class, the map.

“I have to access [the map] a lot in my teaching because not only do you want to talk about the history, but you want to show them where it is taking place.,” Young said.

“In my history classes, the kids do map tests. They have to locate places where things are occurring.”

While the layout provides the practical uses of the map, it is also a way to connect and interact with the students. 

“It gives me more access to other parts of the room. It is Jones’ model of proximity. Jones’ model of proximity is a teaching strategy that if you can get yourself close to the student’s you don’t have the disciplinary problems,” Young said.