‘20 Alum Ell Rose Balances College and Teaching Middle Schoolers

Ell Rose (‘20) isn’t waiting until college graduation before launching their career in education. A junior at Swarthmore College, they also teach middle school students at Media Providence Friends School. Ell created a course curriculum that combines video instruction, small and large group discussion, and activities that explore history and identity, as well as more practical applications, like how to ask respectful questions and assess stereotypes.

Ell also leads a lunch club that is more informal and more affinity oriented opportunity for students who want to take their involvement to the next level. While their class is mandatory for all students and is geared towards making each individual a more empathetic and aware member of society, the lunch club allows for more personal growth and discussion among like-minded students, as well as petitioning the school for positive change. Ell says, “It looks a fair amount like a New Roads Connections class: sometimes we discuss our feelings, and sometimes we play queer terminology hangman!”

While at New Roads, Ell coached speech and debate for three years. Since graduation, they coached New Roads speech and debate remotely and co-taught the 2022 summer debate program. Ell says, “Doing this made me fall in love with teaching sometime around senior year and I ended up pursuing it formally under Akunna Uka’s recommendation and advice.”