saxon math : Saxon Preschool provides teaching experience
Two days a week, there are more than just teenagers and staff filling the halls at South High. South's own Saxon Preschool allows a group of South High students to work with 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in a fun and educational setting.
About 35 children attend the preschool, run by a group of South students and their teacher, Laura Foley.
Foley trains the students extensively during the first six weeks of each school year on how to care for young children, write lesson plans and lead the preschool. The students are then prepared to begin working directly with children later in the fall.
Once students gain enough experience and knowledge working with young children, they take up various leadership positions within the preschool.
"We put our knowledge of small children into practice in the preschool," South junior Tia Cotter said.
Cotter is a TC3, which means she is in one of the top student leaders in Saxon Preschool. She helps write lesson plans, plan activities and oversees the preschool for the weeks in which she is one of the leaders.
"We take turns being the leader for a week, or we can co-teach with another TC3," Cotter said.
The student leaders choose fun themes for each week of the preschool, ranging from "under the sea" to "planes, trains, and automobiles." Everything from math and science activities to the snacks the children eat in a given week, revolve around the specific theme.
The preschool charges $100 per semester per child, which covers all snacks, activities and projects.
"We will take any child, so long as they are potty trained," Cotter said.
Saxon Preschool is a valuable tool not only to parents of preschoolers in Salem, but also to the South students leading the program.
"We get experience with how to be a teacher, how to deal with the personalities of children, and how to work with adults and parents," South senior and TC2 Jolene Joseph said. "I want to be a teacher, so this is hands-on education for me."
Joseph recently completed a six-week long practicum at nearby McKinley Elementary School to gain even more experience working with children. "I learned not only how to work with children, but also how to write résumés, do interviews and get a job in the future," she said.
Students involved with the preschool rave about the experience of teaching young children.
"It's such an amazing accomplishment to see [the children] grasp things we teach them," Cotter said. "The most rewarding part is to see our ideas come to life in the preschool and then see the children get it and understand things, it is so incredible."
BY CARA DOWNS
About 35 children attend the preschool, run by a group of South students and their teacher, Laura Foley.
Foley trains the students extensively during the first six weeks of each school year on how to care for young children, write lesson plans and lead the preschool. The students are then prepared to begin working directly with children later in the fall.
Once students gain enough experience and knowledge working with young children, they take up various leadership positions within the preschool.
"We put our knowledge of small children into practice in the preschool," South junior Tia Cotter said.
Cotter is a TC3, which means she is in one of the top student leaders in Saxon Preschool. She helps write lesson plans, plan activities and oversees the preschool for the weeks in which she is one of the leaders.
"We take turns being the leader for a week, or we can co-teach with another TC3," Cotter said.
The student leaders choose fun themes for each week of the preschool, ranging from "under the sea" to "planes, trains, and automobiles." Everything from math and science activities to the snacks the children eat in a given week, revolve around the specific theme.
The preschool charges $100 per semester per child, which covers all snacks, activities and projects.
"We will take any child, so long as they are potty trained," Cotter said.
Saxon Preschool is a valuable tool not only to parents of preschoolers in Salem, but also to the South students leading the program.
"We get experience with how to be a teacher, how to deal with the personalities of children, and how to work with adults and parents," South senior and TC2 Jolene Joseph said. "I want to be a teacher, so this is hands-on education for me."
Joseph recently completed a six-week long practicum at nearby McKinley Elementary School to gain even more experience working with children. "I learned not only how to work with children, but also how to write résumés, do interviews and get a job in the future," she said.
Students involved with the preschool rave about the experience of teaching young children.
"It's such an amazing accomplishment to see [the children] grasp things we teach them," Cotter said. "The most rewarding part is to see our ideas come to life in the preschool and then see the children get it and understand things, it is so incredible."
BY CARA DOWNS
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