Photo by Victoria Durgin/The Quill
By Victoria Durgin, Editor in Chief
Students in Susquehanna’s education department plan for their time to serve as student teachers in a local school early on in their studies.
But for the current seniors in the department, COVID-19 has introduced new hurdles to plan around as they gain experience before graduation.
Senior Ethan Bilson, a history and secondary education major, currently works with social studies classes at Mifflinburg Area High School. He works in-person with students, an experience he is especially grateful for in a time when many schools are at least partially remote.
“I’m really happy the education department has made this happen for us,” Bilson said.
One of his fellow seniors Rebecca Vernachio, a German and K-12 education major, is also working in-person with her students.
Vernachio is a student teacher in a German classroom for students in eighth through 12thgrades at Midwest School District High School.
“This is the culmination of everything… the entire time I have been at SU this is what I have looked forward to,” Vernachio said.
Both Bilson and Vernachio said that although they are teaching in person, they still feel that they need to be as prepared as possible for any situation.
“You really just need to be ready to pivot on a dime,” Bilson said.
He stressed the importance of flexible lesson plans that can help students in the classroom and those who may be learning online during quarantine periods.
Vernachio also said her lesson plans were adaptable to any situation, but added that to her, teaching well goes beyond having lesson plans.
“There’s a lot of roles that teachers fill,” Vernachio said.
This has become especially apparent to senior Spanish studies and K-12 education major Rebecca Jay, who is also completing her student teaching experience this semester. Jay, however, is entirely remote.
Jay teaches Spanish to sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Shikellamy Middle School. Jay teaches the students who have opted to stay remote, and only sees the students in-person students on Fridays, when all students learn remotely.
Jay said though she has only seen students through a screen she believes she is making great connections with students who often don’t get typical interaction with peers or teachers.
“My sixth graders are incredible,” Jay said, “They show up, keep their cameras on and even ask if they can stay later.”
Jay said she has also realized just how much some students take on outside of the classroom. She spoke about seeing students babysitting younger siblings, keeping their pets occupied and juggling other household chores with their schoolwork.
“This has honestly given me a chance to build rapport with students when I thought it would be incredibly difficult,” Jay said.
For Bilson, that rapport is the best part about the experience, and one of his favorite things about teaching.
“I really enjoy being with students and watching something click in their minds,” Bilson said.
All three seniors said that though they certainly did not plan to teach during a global pandemic, the uniqueness of the situation has helped them grow in ways they didn’t expect.
“There’s a lot more that goes into teaching than what students see,” Vernachio said.
For Jay, this has meant more focus on technology than she expected to have for a language class.
“I love learning with games and songs and the things that you typically see in language classes, but I will say it’s a lot easier to reach your students with some of the tech I’ve used,” Jay said.
COVID-19 concerns also leave teachers ready to “pivot on a dime,” as Bilson said, and Jay said she thinks that has helped her accept the changing nature of working in a classroom during any period.
“I’m very much a planner. I like everything set in stone, I like being early… but it just doesn’t happen like that,” Jay said.
Vernachio said she typically “overplans,” because she knows that teaching requires flexibility.
“It’s constant reflection and constant adjustment,” Vernachio said.
