Stepping into the classroom as a first-time teacher can be daunting. Adding the pressure of graduate coursework can make it even more so, but that杏吧专区檚 exactly the task Alexandria Feaster and Kristi Benetti undertook.
Immediately following their respective college graduations 杏吧专区 Feaster from LA Tech, Benetti from the 杏吧专区 杏吧专区 the emerging teachers enrolled in UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 .
杏吧专区淚 knew from family being in education that I didn杏吧专区檛 want to be in the classroom all my life,杏吧专区 says Feaster. 杏吧专区淚 wanted to get another degree so that I could one day do something to help teachers but not in an administrative role.杏吧专区
Benetti had similar inclinations and says she didn杏吧专区檛 want to lose momentum by taking time away from her education.
杏吧专区淚 wanted to go back to school as soon as I could because I thought if I didn杏吧专区檛, it would never get done,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 saw my alma mater was offering a program entirely online. That was very appealing because I had a young child, and I had a lot to do.杏吧专区
She was drawn to the program for its flexibility, and says she found it was exactly what she wanted.
杏吧专区(The courses) reached me on such a personal level because that杏吧专区檚 how I want to be as a teacher, to be a mentor to others and to my students,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 was like, 杏吧专区榳ow, this is what I杏吧专区檓 meant to do. I杏吧专区檓 definitely in the right place.杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
Benetti says she was able to take what she was learning in the online graduate program and immediately apply it to her classroom in New Iberia, where she杏吧专区檚 taught the last four years.
杏吧专区淚t made me research the problems I was having in my classroom,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 was already required to have these projects done and these papers written so when a problem came up in my classroom, I used that to devise a solution.杏吧专区
Feaster has taught elementary classes in Homer, Louisiana, for the last two years. She has also chaired a faculty committee, served as a leadership team member, sponsors the high school cheer squad, and has been a teacher leader.
With her extra responsibilities, Feaster says she had to to stay on top of her online graduate courses.
杏吧专区淭hings get crazy during the week, but I would make time one day a week to look at everything that杏吧专区檚 due and try to make a plan,杏吧专区 she says.
She said she杏吧专区檇 block out time based on what was due that week, how much time she杏吧专区檇 need to get started and how much time she might need through the weekend to complete assignments or participate in discussion boards.
Benetti said time management was something she had to quickly learn working full time while attending school online.
杏吧专区淚 had to really plan a schedule. Scheduling and time management was something I had to learn because I didn杏吧专区檛 have to know how to do that during my bachelor杏吧专区檚 program. I didn杏吧专区檛 have a full time job, I didn杏吧专区檛 have lessons to plan or papers to grade,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 had to look for help.杏吧专区
In addition to careful planning, Benetti joined and adopted principles from the 40-Hour Teacher Workweek.
Feaster says UL Lafayette professors also helped students keep a balance by accommodating their professional lives.
杏吧专区淚 had a lot going on these past two years, but as long as I was open with communication, they were always good about responding and were very accommodating. Most of them had been teachers so they understood where I was coming from,杏吧专区 Feaster says. 杏吧专区淚t was always a team effort. You didn杏吧专区檛 feel alone.杏吧专区
Benetti says her experience with online faculty mirrored her experience as an on-campus UL Lafayette student.
杏吧专区淚t wasn杏吧专区檛 much different from scheduling a meeting and going to their office to talk to them in person,杏吧专区 Benetti says. 杏吧专区淭hey were only ever an email away. They were very responsive with feedback and any questions I had.杏吧专区
She says she also found support from her peers.
杏吧专区淚 met with a couple of my colleagues I hadn杏吧专区檛 worked with before beginning the program to collaborate for the sake of the course, which is what we need as teachers: like-minded individuals we can sound off with from time to time and work to solve problems,杏吧专区 Benetti says.
Upon graduation from the M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction, Instructional Specialist program, Feaster says she杏吧专区檒l begin taking steps to earn a specialist degree.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 trying to get it all out of the way,杏吧专区 she says.
Benetti is taking on a different type of challenge, moving to a charter school in Franklin to teach English language arts, run the school杏吧专区檚 STEAM lab, and serve as technology coach.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 going to give me some additional experience, and I杏吧专区檓 hoping that can lead to some instructional coaching and mentoring,杏吧专区 she says.
Along the way, she intends to earn additional credentials to achieve her long-term goal of starting an independent education consulting firm.
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