As effective with the most vulnerable students as he is with the AP superstars, English/Language teacher Marcus Eure challenges young people to become engaged and active learners. By providing innovative subject matter, rigorous course work and an unwavering support system, Eure has proven that students can achieve at the highest levels in his English, AP language and media studies classes at Brewster High School in Brewster, NY.
Eure’s teaching techniques have resulted in both quantifiable and qualitative student achievement. He utilizes student data to tailor instruction and revise assessments to measure student strengths and challenges. Eure teaches complicated subjects, such as a unit on the nature of lying with a syllabus that includes the famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” and a unit on the philosophy of torture to stimulate deep thinking on the world around them. His effectiveness can be seen in the 96 percent of students who passed the 2010 Regents exam, as well as in the 87 percent who passed AP English, with 26 percent of those receiving the highest score of 5.
Eure now runs a Humanities makerspace of his own design, within which he uses innovations in grading, instruction, and project-based learning to help seniors experience the Humanites while preparing for life after high school. Read more about this makerspace here: http://sisypheanhigh.com/malachite/?page_id=3343.
An even more telling gage of Eure’s impact is in the students who visit him after they have graduated from high school to tell him they chose to pursue journalism, media or advertising in college as a result of his classes. Eure has become a beacon of strength to students who have struggled with the humanities. He has worked with students from the Clearpool Alternative school and served for over a decade as a mentor and leader at Brewster by serving as advisor for Bear Facts, the school’s newspaper, as well as for Ursus, the school’s literary magazine.
