Charles Gerian at BMS is the Person of the Week

From the newsroom to the classroom, Charles Gerian’s love for the English language just doesn’t stop.Gerian, who has been a staff writer at the Journal-Tribune since 2013, has started a new career as the sixth grade English teacher at Blackwell Middle School.The first-year teacher, who is now beginning a career in Blackwell Public Schools, is a former student of the district himself. After graduating from Blackwell High School in 2010, Gerian attended Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa, where he obtained an associate degree in mass communications and another in English. From there, he went to Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva to complete his bachelor’s degree to become an English teacher.Gerian’s decision to become an educator was “natural,” he said. He credited his change in careers to the influence of his teachers right here in Blackwell.“I had some really good English teachers in school. They were a positive influence in my life,” he said. Some of the very teachers Gerian had when he was a student, he pointed out, are now his colleagues.The new teacher’s main goal for the year, he said, is to prepare students for the future. “I want to prepare my students for the fact that high school and college are not like middle school,” he explained.“I gave out assignments on the first day, and I’m already putting grades in,” he added while sitting in his classroom during the first full week of school.In Gerian’s class, students can expect to do a lot of reading, but they’ll be “going below the surface” of the text. “I want my students to have a deeper understanding of literature,” he said. “I want to teach them how to read for information, how to comprehend that information, and how to follow the plot of a story.”As far as writing, Gerian hopes to teach students write with correct grammar. But his main emphasis will be on showing students how to use their “voice.”“Students should have their own voice when they write, and they need to use it responsibly,” he said.For Gerian, that kind of self-expression is important: in his life, it’s reflected by his hobbies, which include watching movies, reading books, and attending comic book conventions.While he hopes to help bring out students’ voices, he’ll also teach them how to write in a more objective manner.“Big events in history can shape the way you write,” he said. “In my career in journalism, things like murders and other political events have taught me how to be objective.”Another skill he learned as a journalist? How to be sociable.“My career in journalism definitely taught me about socializing and talking to people,” said Gerian. “It also taught me how to ask better questions so I can get to know people better. Almost every kid knows who I am because of that job.”While Gerian has embarked on a new adventure, he’ll still remain a staff writer and photographer the J-T. Readers can still expect to find new editions of The Entertainment Corner each week on the opinion page.Even though Gerian has spent most of his adult life in Blackwell, his roots lie east of the Mississippi. Born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1993, Gerian grew up in a military family – his father, John, was a U.S. Marine and recently retired as the animal control officer for the city of Blackwell.The new teacher plans to pursue a master’s degree in the future. He has already taken master-level classes, and he believes he could complete the degree in a year’s time. But for now, he’ll be walking through the doors of his old middle school each and every day, ready to teach students about his favorite thing: literature.Charles