On Jan. 17, an in-service day, Mr. Dan Guerra made the first trip from his home in Pine-Richland to what would be his job for the next two months: student teaching at FHS. His 1996 Plymouth Voyager, with no heat or radio, makes it “a long 45 minutes,” he said, but that hasn’t kept him from enjoying teaching two of Mr. Hernandez’s history classes. Mr. Guerra is in his senior year at Slippery Rock University and is getting his teaching certification in secondary education, specifically in social studies. While his peers in some similar teacher certification programs are required to rigidly follow a pre-designed plan for what to teach students, Mr. Guerra enjoys the fact that he is able to work with Mr. Hernandez to develop his own unique plans. “It gives me the chance to be a real teacher,” he said. Mr. Guerra teaches two of Mr. Hernandez’s American History classes, one 9th grade and one 11th grade. His favorite aspect of social studies is learning and teaching about World War II and after, because that time period really shaped the world and society we live in today, he said. So far, Mr. Guerra said he has only had positive experiences at FHS, specifically being a member of the Social Studies department. “I would have wanted to be a student under this department,” Mr. Guerra said. Another aspect he particularly likes is the block scheduling, noting that it is easier on both teachers and students, especially in preparing students for having days off in between classes in college.