Everyone needs a vacation sometimes, and Matt Hoagland felt that this year was that time. He decided to go on an art/history trip arranged by his aunt, which, due to unfortunate timing, happened to fall when school was in session. But Hoagland couldn’t allow his history students to feel abandoned, so he decided to continue his teaching via Instagram across the globe. And so, southteacher62 picked up his phone and started recording.
Hoagland’s Instagram, southteacher62, is a treasure trove of interesting history and anecdotes surrounding Hoagland’s trip, featuring footage of the scenery and landmarks along with pictures of Hoagland living it up. He said his frequent Instagram posts were intended for his current students, but the social media presence ended up being far more popular than he imagined. He currently has 282 followers, which is far more people than he has current students. He said that some of the comments he receives are cheeky, but he appreciates all of the interaction.
Hoagland talked about his favorite part of his trip was Malta, saying “Malta was great, very friendly and accessible, with lots of history, going all the way to Megalithic sites I didn’t even know they had.” He also talked about loving the ‘White Night’ party, which is a massive party in the fall, originating in Germany, where everyone, even the children, stay up late and go out. The government opens up all of the museums and government buildings to the public, and all of the businesses stay open too. Hoagland talked about venturing into the stock market building, and he found the idea of an entire stock market being held in a single little building very amusing. Hoagland said White NIght “wasn’t just fun, but just overall very positive. The prime minister was just standing outside, greeting people. It was very democratic; it made people feel like they were a part of it.”
Hoagland went on a trip to Europe, so did he learn anything new to teach his AP Euro students? Although he did learn some new things on his trip, they wouldn’t be very helpful to his students. However, he feels mentally recharged and more ready to teach, so maybe there will be an extra spark of enthusiasm in Mr. Hoagland’s classroom.
