Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2021

The first year of teaching can be daunting for any recent graduate, even under the best of circumstances. But starting your education career in the middle of COVID-19? Now that’s a challenge of pandemic proportions. But recent School of Education graduates have weathered their first semester with faith, grace, and creativity. PREPARING FOR THE UNPRECEDENTED Cedarville’s School of Education has a long history of effectively preparing its graduates to enter the education field. “Preparedness doesn’t equate with problem-free teaching,” said Lori (Brown) Ferguson ’98, Assistant Dean and Assistant Professor of Education, “but [students] do feel ready.” It ’s normal to expect chal lenges with classroom management and lesson planning, but no one could have anticipated the additional challenges brought on by a global pandemic. But for recent Cedarville education graduates, their excellent preparation helped free them to focus on COVID-specific challenges. “Going into my first year, I felt confident about how to teach content and how to use the tools for developing routine and classroom management,” explained Shannon LaMonte ’20, who is teaching kindergarten at Primrose School in Canal Winchester, Ohio. “I was then able to focus on the new challenges that COVID has brought about in the classroom.” Hannah (Heft) Tiell ’20 teaches high school special education at Franklinton Prep High School in Columbus, Ohio. “I felt so well prepared for all the special education paperwork,” she shared. “I have been able to stay compliant with state regulations, even with the challenges of teaching a class of students as well as some online.” READY TO ADJUST Even for the best-prepared teacher, the challenges of this year have been intense. Many did not know if they would teach in person or online until right before school started. Others have gone back and forth between the two as COVID cases rose throughout the semester; some have juggled both teaching methods at the same time. “The amount of stress is insane. I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” shared Ariel (Schantz) Ketchum ’20, who is teaching fourth grade science in person and online at St. Charles Catholic School in Lima, Ohio. “It’s one thing to manage a classroom, but it’s another to manage a virtual and physical classroom at the exact same time.” After teaching all day in class, Ketchum spends time in the evening helping an online student. “It’s draining,” she said. One of the greatest challenges, according to Ferguson, is the lack of family atmosphere that typically defines a school. Teachers have to keep their distance from each other, and collaboration and chance hallway conversations Cedarville Magazine | 13