Bruin education carried on during the recent absence of Social Studies Teacher Jim Nieto.

Mr. Nieto, a veteran educator in the Nevada Joint Union High School District, was gone from November 15 through January 8. Students said that they are glad he is back. They also praised the substitute teachers who taught in his stead.

“I think they’ve done fantastic,” said Nathan Farey, a Junior. “They’ve really kept up the intent of learning.”

Bear River’s Principal Dr. Amy Besler declined to comment about the reason for Mr. Nieto’s absence, but agreed with Farey about the performance of the subs.

“Our substitute teachers, particularly Mrs. Burcham, have done an outstanding job implementing Mr. Nieto’s curriculum and lesson plans in his absence,” Dr. Besler said. “We are grateful to have such wonderful, dedicated substitute teachers.”

Amid glowing praise for Mrs. Burcham, a couple of students said that they preferred her teaching method to Mr. Nieto’s.

“I think honestly that I learned more with the sub than with Nieto,” said Mackenzie Martin, a Junior.

However, some students disagreed entirely.

“The subs that we had definitely did what they were told to do, but I prefer Nieto’s way of teaching a lot more,” said Hunter Smith, a Junior.

Substitute Teacher Laurel Burcham described her experience in Mr. Nieto’s classroom.

“In the beginning, the classroom assignments that Mr. Nieto assigned were difficult for me to conduct because I did not have the background on the information to answer questions and help them understand what was expected,” Mrs. Burcham said. “After I contacted Mr. Nieto about this, he began assigning work from the textbook and I was able to read up on the information ahead of time and was therefore better prepared to teach the subject.”

In addition, Mrs. Burcham talked about the the concerns students shared with her while Mr. Nieto was gone.

“At the beginning no one knew how long he would be out, so each day we expected that he would be back the next day or by the end of the week,” she said. “Many students were concerned that he was out, and wanted to know what was happening, but I did not have any answers for them. The biggest concern from students that I heard was they were concerned about their grades.”

Bruins expressed a range of feelings about Mr. Nieto’s return.

“It’s a little weird, because he seems to be acting different, but I think it’s good,” Farey said. “He’s definitely more focused.”

Sophomore Karah Echternacht said that she was thrilled to hear of Mr. Nieto’s return.

“I’m just happy that he’s back,” she said. “I think he has this teaching method that really resonates with me.”

As for Mr. Nieto himself, his thoughts were similar to Echternacht’s.

“Bear River has always been like a family to me, and I am happy to be back with our students and staff,” Mr. Nieto said.

Smith said that Mr. Nieto’s History lessons stick with him.

“Nieto has us learn things because they matter, and why they matter, rather than having us memorize dates for two weeks, take a test and forget it,” Smith said. “He actually has us learn it and why it’s important.”