Education majors pursue passion, enjoy hands-on work experience

acher. The cohorts of the education department at GCSU are very competitive. If you manage to make the cut for the cohort then your days become filled with the laughter of children, the understanding eyes of a child and even the class troublemaker that can wear your patience thin. If you make it through that and 18 hours of classes then you’re experiencing the life of an education major.

Hayley Stokes is a junior early childhood education major and she finds herself constantly having to manage her time. Laura McEachern is a junior middle grades education major who’s constantly reading and preparing for a full load of classes, as well as student teaching.

Lindsay Rhinesmith is a junior special education major often exhausted after a long day in the classroom with students that have special needs. The life of an education major is packed full of hours of reading, student-teaching days, hard work and time management. Oh, and if time permits, fitting in an occasional nap.

Stokes said the key to a satisfying day in the classroom is to have patience.

“I find that for my students to respect me I have to respect them,” Stokes said. “I spend two days a week in the classroom helping my host teacher with whatever she needs. If she needs me to teach a lesson, grade some papers or make copies, then that’s what I do.”

Stokes still has to prepare for her time in the classroom even though there are no lesson plans for her to write yet.

“I don’t know the last time I thought about simple predicates was,” Stokes said. “I bet you can’t even remember what they are too. I had to Google what they were that night to make sure I had taught a kid the right stuff.

“It’s hard to have a life, because I sleep, eat, go to class or student teach, take a nap, and then I start homework,” Stokes said. “Then I wake up and do it all over again. I have assignments due in every one of my classes and sometimes I have to read chapters for every class, every single day.”

McEachern finds that a successful day of classes and student teaching revolves around her time-management skills.

“I have classes all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays and student teaching on Mondays and Wednesdays. I have a class that teaches me about how to teach math and not how to just do it, a class that teaches new technologies for teachers to use, and a class that teaches me different theories in teaching,” McEachern said.

“For me to have a life I have to use time management,” McEachern said. “This is my priority so everything I do outside of my cohort I can’t do unless I plan accordingly.”

McEachern is also in a sorority and has to manage that into her schedule too. “I’m already planning ahead,” McEachern said. “I hope that I will be able to attend socials, but I don’t want to compromise my top priority, which is my cohort.

“I love it though,” McEachern added. “The kids are so rewarding to be around.”

Rhinesmith really enjoys being in the special education cohort, because it’s what she loves to do.

“The classes are really laid back and we will spend part of the class time talking about our placement,” Rhinesmith said. “We have to do a lot of reading, but its never too difficult – it’s just a lot.”

Rhinesmith talked about how nervous she was when she first found out where she would be teaching.

“I have been placed at a school for kids with emotional and behavioral disorders,” she said. “I’m learning lots of classroom management and discipline from my first placement.

At the same time though I was excited. I like a good challenge and this will definitely be one. My students are all very sweet, but you have to know when they are about to cross the line. They will go from sweet to devil child like that.

“As far as going out or having a social life – yes, you can have one, but you’re going to be tired because you have to get up early the next day,” Rhinesmith said. “I think it’s possible, but you have to use time management.”

Revel Wylly Pogue has been a liaison for the John H. Lounsbury College of Education for six years. She works to help education students find field placements and with the host teachers so the students get the experience they need.

“When our students graduate from the school they have over 1,000 hours in the classroom,” Pogue said. “When they get hired they are treated like it’s their second year, because of all their experience.”

There are two junior and two senior early childhood education cohorts with 20 students in each. The special education and middle grades cohorts have one junior and one senior cohort with 20 students in each.

“We are very proud of our reputation,” Pogue said. “Nationally, the average for teacher retention after five years in the field is approximately 50 percent. Our students are still in the field after five years at 91 percent. We couldn’t be prouder.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 2 2009. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry