Many students are unaware of the Careers in Education Class that VHS offers. The class is a college credit class that is taken by students who are interested in pursuing a career that involves children.

During the first two marking periods of the school year, the class learns about the basics of education. The third marking period is when the students have the opportunity to experience the field through two months of student teaching.

This year the class is made up of eight senior students: Danielle Alfano, Megan Flood, Melissa McLoughlin, Natalie Navarro, Claudia Palma, Mike Petrozzino, Jackie Selby, and Sydney Watkins.

Students had various student teaching experiences at different levels. Some of them included Natalie Navarro teaching preschool at Laning. Sydney Watkins at Forest with a second grade class, and  Claudia Palma teaching with eighth grade science teacher Mrs. Heckel at HBW.

The student teaching experience allows the students to become a part of a classroom of their choice. The student teachers are encouraged to get involved in the class immediately. Ways the students get involved include: making bulletin boards, tutoring students, reading books out loud to the class, grading papers, giving spelling tests, etc. Towards the end of the experience the students must teach two lessons. Those lessons are observed by Mrs. Burke, the Careers in Education course teacher.

“I was so nervous to teach my own lessons to my class but once I started it got so much easier. It was so much fun and I wish I could go back to teach more lessons,” said Sydney Watkins.

The student teaching experience started on February 29, and ended on April 29. Now that the actual student teaching is done, all of the students must reflect on their experience and make a portfolio about it.

The portfolio has to include Journal Entries, Lesson Plans, Self Evaluations, Evaluations from Mrs. Burke and the cooperating teacher, and other essays of choice. The portfolios are  handed in for a big grade in the fourth marking period but eventually they are distributed back to the creators.

Danielle Alfano said, “Even though the portfolio is a lot of work I love that I can look back on it in the future and remember this great experience I had.”

Sydney Watkins said, “I learned so much from this class and student teaching. I can’t wait to look back at my portfolio in the future when I have my own classroom.”