Flexible Planning
"I'm a planner," says Beth Hodge, who graduated from UNCG in Spring 2001 with a degree in Elementary Education. Since starting college straight from high school in 1992, however, her careful plans have undergone a few revisions.
As a traditional student, Beth chose a small North Carolina college with an attractive education program. But her four-year plan soon required alteration when she was forced to interrupt her education altogether for financial reasons.
When she did come back to school as an adult student, she had several years' experience in the business world, she had gotten married, and she'd collected some additional credits in the adult education program at Chapel Hill where she'd changed her major to Business. She was living and working in Burlington. "It would have taken forever" one class at a time with a 40-minute commute, she says.
A Child Changed Her Long Term Goals
She and her husband Chuck worked out a plan for her to return to school full time; it included the prospect of another break in school to start a family. Her daughter Dani was born right on schedule and Beth stayed home one semester. Taking a break was not a problem, Beth says, "The school made it easy to slide back into classes and resume my financial aid."
What changed after her daughter's arrival was her long term plan. She had second thoughts about the travel that a business career would demand and switched her major back to education. "Changing majors involves bigger issues than transferring to another college," she laughs, "It was a good thing I'd covered most of my basic requirements."
After acceptance into the elementary education curriculum, Beth's teacher training took four semesters. She joined a group of fellow students who shared courses, internship experiences in the schools, and an advisor. Her program required at least 120 hours in elementary classrooms during each of the three terms leading up to her student teaching. In addition, she did a concentration in Communication Studies and finished the extensive state requirements for elementary licensure.
Pleased with the Preparation Provided by UNCG
Beth speaks highly of the preparation she has received at UNCG to enter the classroom. "I really feel confident as a new teacher," she says. "I talked to other first-year teachers and they haven't had the experience in the schools that UNCG offers." She was grateful she could do her student teaching in the school where she had interned the semester before. "I feel like I've almost taught for a year already," she says. "I knew the kids I taught . . . and went back for their fifth grade graduation. It was my first class, really."
She has high praise for Dr. Terry Atkinson, her advisor during her training. "She was a great teacher, she was supportive, but she pushed us. . . . She instilled in us the importance of basing our teaching methods on sound research" and putting research to use in developing new strategies. Beth believes she got her teaching job for the coming year in part because she was willing to try new things.
Being a full-time student and new mother was challenging but manageable, Beth found. "I was nervous about the possibility of missing class after my internships began," she recalls, "but I only had to miss 4 or 5 days in two years and people worked with me."
She does not regret the time she spent away from school as a young woman. "You don't really know how much you need a degree until you get out there," Beth says. "You find out about yourself in the work world too" and "discover your real interests." My course work was so interesting throughout college "from a more mature perspective," she affirms. "And I would not have had such an interest in research as a younger student."
After student teaching, she did not relax for graduation and summer vacation. In addition to interviewing for jobs, she accepted a six-week assignment as a substitute in the school where she will start teaching in the fall. She deliberated among several job offers, including a position at the school where she did her student teaching. She finally chose a school three minutes from her home. "I want to teach in my community," she says, "and stay there a long time . . . I feel strongly about that."
Continuing Her Education
At graduation, her husband told her he felt like he was graduating too. But Beth was already making new plans. As she begins her first year of teaching, she will also take her first UNCG graduate course toward a Master's Degree. She has not only become a teacher; she'll continue to be an adult student.
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Page updated: 06-May-2009
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