Teaching Weber’s Law in AP Psychology, Genghis Khan in Honors World History, fiscal policy in AP NSL and feudalism in Medieval History, John Freundel has done it all. However, no matter what curriculum he is teaching, Freundel educates all his students on how to be lifelong learners. 

Studying social studies and education at McDaniel College, Freundel has always loved history, and has hoped to share this knowledge and passion with his students. 

“I think pretty early on in high school I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” Freundel said. “I was fortunate enough to have a very good string of history teachers from middle school to high school, with their passion for history rubbing off on me.”

Freundel has been teaching for 16 years, with 10 of these years coming from teaching in Carroll County. There, Freundel stumbled upon teaching psychology, which he has been teaching ever since. 

“Teaching psychology was a complete accident. My first year in Carroll County, the teacher who was teaching psych went on sabbatical,” Freundel said. “Originally I was supposed to be teaching all history classes, however I got placed in psych because there was no teacher. In my teaching career, it’s the best mistake that could ever have happened.”

While teaching psychology was unintentional for Freundel, the subject soon became one of his favorite classes to teach because of its connection and application to real life. 

“I love teaching psychology because it’s infinitely applicable. I can understand that in some history classes it’s hard to make the connection between the history and the students’ life. However, in psych you can take what you learn and use it in your everyday life,” Freundel said. “Being able to understand your own mind, strengths and weaknesses is something so valuable.”

AP Psychology is an extremely popular elective at WCHS, where a large number of students take it in their junior or senior year. Many of the students who take this class end up loving it and majoring in psychology in college, something that shows just how much of an impact Freundel can have on students’ futures. Freundel also is teaching Honors Modern World History this year. Freundel understands that it is sometimes hard to connect with a history class on a different level, so to keep his students’ attention and further their understanding, he embeds stories and analogies into his lessons. 

“I really like it when Mr. Freundel makes fun analogies in class,” WCHS senior Noa Assouline said. “Whenever he tells a story or makes an analogy, I am able to better understand what we are learning, no matter if it is Silk Road or the lanteen sail.”

Assouline has had Freundel for two years and has loved his teaching style. She especially appreciates that he connects modern day popular culture with his classes, making him very engaging and easy to listen to.

“Mr. Freundel is very engaging and finds a way to make the curriculum entertaining and something to look forward to,” Assouline said. “He is also very reasonable and understands that students have other things going on in their life. Therefore he tries to make the class as flexible as it can be.”

Through teaching at WCHS, Freundel hopes to not only educate students, but also to create interested and curious individuals. Not only does he want students to learn from each of their class’s curriculums, but he wants them to learn from their peers, mistakes, teachers and community.

“I hope to share an appreciation for learning,” Freundel said. “I hope that something that they hear in class makes them truly interested in how the world works. Whether that is reading the textbook or going down a hole of watching Youtube videos, I hope my students find something that makes them want to learn.”