Gary Scott believes MSU’s education program stands out amongst others because its students learn to teach for tomorrow’s world.
“We’re definitely prepared for all kind of learners as we go farther into the 21st century,” said Scott, an education senior. “The demographics are changing, so we have to be able to teach students with diverse origins.”
Scott is the president of the Student Michigan Education Association, or SMEA, a preprofessional organization that helps students make smooth transitions into becoming teachers.
As the spring semester comes to a close, first-year education graduate students are finishing their year of student teaching while undergraduates prepare to lead their own classrooms — a task, Scott said, that is critical to taking the next step in education.
“We have to be able to bridge the gap and find out how we can teach kids simultaneously with different styles,” Scott said.
Jessica Henning is a special education graduate student who is student teaching in Chicago Public Schools and said her first year leading a classroom was a big responsibility.
“It was a bit of a whirlwind,” Henning said. “Getting to learn the Chicago Public School System and trying to also do your MSU coursework was obviously time consuming.”
Henning taught seventh- and eighth-grade special-needs students four days a week. During the school day, Henning taught writing, math, science and social studies.
She said she was lucky because the teacher whose class she student taught in gave her the flexibility to take charge of the classroom.
“I had a unique situation,” Henning said. “I sort of stepped in and took the leadership role from the beginning because I had a mentor who said, ‘OK, let’s just do this.’”
As Henning concludes her semester of student teaching in Chicago, other students are preparing to make the leap to the front of the classroom.
Lauren Wilkie, an English senior who plans to teach an English-related curriculum, is waiting to be placed in a Metro Detroit public school for her year as a student teacher.
Wilkie said she’s anxious to get assigned a school because she knows friends who will be student teaching that already have been placed in Lansing and Grand Rapids. Wilkie, whose parents live in the Detroit area, said her choice to student teach near her hometown was an economical one — she will be able to save money by living with family.
Wilkie said she’s ready to get more practical teaching experience under her belt.
“Ultimately, I want to be prepared,” Wilkie said. “There (are) a lot of professions where you can learn everything from a book, and I don’t think teaching is one of them. You need to get your hands dirty and get in a classroom.”
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