Photo courtesy of Ethan Moseman
Are you a future junior or senior at Hastings High School? Have you ever wanted to learn more about planets? The Sun? How stars are created? Well, now you can in Earth and Space Science class with Abby Brehm and Ethan Moseman.
Earth and Space Science class taught by Abby Brehm and Ethan Moseman has started its second semester at Hastings High School. After planning for three years, Brehm made the class a reality with the support of Moseman.
“It’s been fun to teach,” Brehm said. “Mr. Moseman and I have been planning together, and it’s been a really good experience.”
Brehm chose Moseman as a partner because he is also interested in Earth and Space Science and went to school for meteorology. Additionally, he has a background in physics, astronomy, and earth science.
“It’s been a really good partnership,” Brehm said. “I had approached him and was like, ‘Hey, I want to bring this class. I think you would be a good person to teach this, and I would like to work on this together,’ and he was all for it.”
This was not the first time Moseman played a role in building a class. When he worked at Grand Island Senior High, he had created their physics program. “When I first started teaching Physics, I thought I’d hate it because it was such a hard class for me in high school and college, but I actually really enjoyed it,” Moseman said.
Going into the class for the first time herself, Brehm did not know what to expect. She ended up with students new to the subject alongside those who knew more than she anticipated.
“Some things definitely took longer than we expected,” Brehm said. “… some kids needed more support than expected or kids knew more than we expected, but overall it is pretty much what we expected, it’s been a good learning experience for both myself and Mr. Moseman.”
Junior Arya Schroeder is one of Brehm’s students. She took the class because of her long-time, childhood interest in space science.
“Ever since I was like three, I had a weird obsession with space and when my counselor mentioned it I thought it would be easy compared to taking all honors classes,” Schroeder said.
Since the class was introduced at the beginning of this school year, Brehm and Moseman are still trying to find a rhythm in class. They have been working together and trying different tactics.
“I kind of know what to expect… [but] It’s a lot of figuring things out as you go,” Moseman said. “You’re building a plane as you’re flying, [that] type of thing,” Moseman said.
At one point, Brehm had the students download an app on their phones, which shows the night sky and where it was during the day.
“My favorite part of the class is probably the fact that Brehm keeps coming up with really random ways to teach,” Schroder said.
During the first semester, the class was astronomy based. Students did readings, theatrical assignments (where they played roles and discussed ideas), and projects.
“One of the really cool projects we did was a stellar evolution comic strip based on the life cycle of a star, and kids were really creative,” Brehm said.
One project the students did at the end of the semester was making an ornament with a space object inside. Schroeder chose Charon, which is Pluto’s moon and is named after the grim ferryman of the Greek underworld.
“This was also my favorite project because I didn’t have to work with anyone,” Schroeder said.
Earth and Space Science is a general level course that can be taken for science credits. An honors pathway is not offered for this class.
“I think some people, before we implemented the class, thought it was going to be a super easy class that they could just take,” Brehm said. “I wouldn’t say it’s as challenging as physics, but I think overall, I want people to know that anyone could take this class and be successful.”
