Student teachers continue to educate alongside COVID-19 safety precautions
Photo by Christopher Vega.
This semester, senior education majors at Lee stepped into schools as they prepared for their future education by creating lesson plans and teaching in socially distanced and virtual settings.
Director of Teacher Education and Field Experiences Dr. Shane Brown works to place his student teachers in two schools each semester.
“We hope to find them a place they’d really like to serve,” said Brown. “We work hard with our candidates to say, ‘be a good guest.’ I think they’re feeling that stress [due to COVID], but to watch their resilience has been extremely positive.”
With 115 student teachers across all placements, administrators report there have been few exposures and mandated quarantines.
“We’ve had some [quarantine] but a relatively small percent,” said Placement Coordinator Carla Meyers. “No more than 4 or 5 [cases]. It’s been surprisingly good.”
Meyers notes the resilience of Lee's student teachers with schools taking numerous precautions, including temperature checks, masks, and wiping down high-touch surfaces between use.
“I think they’ve handled it remarkably well,” said Meyers. “I’ve been very proud of our students … They’ve displayed a lot of flexibility.”
For student teachers, COVID has shifted their focus and teaching experience entirely.
“It’s certainly been a tenuous battle,” said Nick Brown, a senior English education major taught at Walker Valley High School. “Our focus has been on sanitation and making sure we aren’t spreading it ourselves.”
Brown emphasized that while teachers can promote COVID safety precautions, most decisions belong to parents and children.
“We can wear masks and sanitize all day long,” Brown said. “But if your student is not wearing a mask and going out to other places, there’s only so much we can do on one front.”
Brown had to quarantine twice during his placement, missing four weeks of instruction. He said during his quarantines, his supervisors worked with him to finish his class requirements.
“They made a difficult situation — certainly a stressful situation — a bit less so,” said Brown.
As student teachers wrap up the semester, administrators continue to evaluate safety regulations and train these future educators.
For more information about student teaching, contact Dr. Shane Brown, shanebrown@leeuniversity.edu.
