Students might know him for his festive ties or hallway greetings, but social studies teacher Jared Daggit is much more than just the greeter of the B200 pod. 

Jared Daggit forges vital connections inside and outside of the classroom. Many students complain that their teachers fail to actually do any teaching, but Mr. Daggit ensures no student feels that way about him. 

Mr. Daggit teaches exclusively AP (Advanced Placement) courses this school year. He teaches three AP Human Geography courses, the first AP class available to freshmen.

He also has two sections of AP Economics, one of two AP social study classes offered to seniors in addition to AP Government. He hasn’t always taught exclusively AP classes though.

Although for the past couple of years, he’s only taught AP classes, it boils down to how many students sign up for different social study classes.

“It kind of ebbs and flows as the size of the freshmen class changes and as the number of students that sign up for AP Econ and AP Human Geography change,” Mr. Daggit said.

To ensure that his students stay invested in the class, Mr. Daggit focuses on building personal relationships with his students. He also recognizes the negative effects distance learning had on students’ investment in learning.

“I try to focus more on the community aspect,” Mr. Daggit said.

Mr. Daggit believes building connections is important since one never knows when the school might go back to full-time distance learning. Regardless of their reasons for taking his classes, Mr. Daggit tries to get all students invested in social studies.

The social study classes Mr. Daggit teaches aren’t just for credit. They set students up for success later in life.

“Most people should have a baseline understanding of economics,” said Danny Nong, senior AP Economics student.

Mr. Daggit’s hands-on teaching method ensures his students comprehend the course material. By connecting with students, he can provide learning opportunities to AP Human Geography freshmen who aren’t used to the rigorous process of AP classes.

“The real enjoyable part is Mr. Daggit himself,” Danny said. “He brings energy to a topic I know for a fact a lot of other people might not be as enthusiastic about.”

The added energy and connections Mr. Daggit brings to the classroom is considered a breath of fresh air by his students.

Mr. Daggit’s teaching doesn’t end with social study classes; he also coaches speech. He coaches the discussion and extemporaneous speaking categories, two of the most unorthodox categories in speech. 

“I never found a reason to enjoy speech until I joined discussion and met Mr. Daggit,” said senior speech member Nghi Nguyen. “It’s actually a really worthwhile experience.”

Whereas in other categories, students write and memorize a speech with advice and input from their coach, Mr. Daggit’s categories force him to do things differently. He gives advice for presenting arguments, being adaptable, and growing from past experiences.

Mr. Daggit’s goal in teaching and coaching is to set students up for success post-graduation. Not only does he teach and coach students what is directly relevant, but he also builds up skills that will allow students to be well-rounded adults.

“Things that will benefit you in all facets of life,” Nghi said. “He taught me to communicate better and be more confident.”

Mr. Daggit brings positivity and connection to his teaching, but he still loves to learn and try new things outside of school.

“I started collecting records in 2020,” Mr. Daggit said. “Currently, I have around 400 records.”

Not many people take up a new hobby at 36 years old, but Mr. Daggit wanted a tangible show of his enjoyment of music and support of small or local artists. Having so many records also allows him to further connect with students through shared music interests.

Mr. Daggit also simply enjoys the history behind records and rediscovering musicians and bands from his childhood. The history behind many records also ties back to his job so he can understand and appreciate it on a deeper level.

“I almost feel like I’m preserving a part of history,” Mr. Daggit said.

Students may know Mr. Daggit for his fun ties and greetings, but there’s also an invested teacher and coach behind layers of sarcasm and jokes. His quirkiness and positivity all serve the same purpose: Mr. Daggit wants to help the students of Prior Lake High School. “I want them to be better today than they were yesterday.”