The Education Department at Grove City College is made up of a well-known, highly regarded program that provides the education students with the best experience they can get. From its highly qualified professors, to the extensive out of classroom work that the students are required to do, each student is sure to graduate with enough preparation to head into a real teaching career. As a part of the education major each student is required to meet a certain number of “field” hours, which is best described as going to a school to observe the classroom dynamic and teach a lesson to the students. These hours differ depending on the year of the student as well as what level of education they are studying. Starting first semester freshman year, the ED majors are presented with a number of field opportunities that are set up and arranged by the College. The only part that you have to do is arrange them into your schedule. In a small town like Grove City, containing only one elementary, middle and high school, one would think that finding an opportunity to teach in a classroom as a college student would be hard. However, with connections in the surrounding towns as well as the reputation that the ED majors uphold, they are able to go outside of Grove City for their fields. Some of the schools that students have done fields at are: Seneca Valley, Hillview elementary, Artman elementary, and EEC (Early Education Center – day care within the College). While doing fields at a school in Grove City is convenient, there is much to be learned when you are placed in a school in a different location that has a different environment. Starting fields freshman year puts our ED majors ahead of competing schools, and gives them experience right off the bat.
Like stated earlier, fields are primarily set up by the school, however it is up to the student to fit it into their schedule. Students can have as many fields as they want during the week, but they also need to keep in mind that they will have to take classes on top of that. Freshman year the fields are mainly observation, which is essentially sitting in on a class and watching the teacher give their lesson. After freshman year the fields become more intensive and the teaching is placed in the hands of the student. The students are required to come up with lesson plans and activities to help the class learn what they are being taught. These lessons can be done on just about any subject, as most of the education classes require fields as an extra asset of the class. Even though so much is learned from the fields, it is not always as glamorous as it sounds. “Learning how to control a classroom can be a tough task to accomplish and that it why it is so important to accept the fact that you are going to make mistakes, but also that you can learn from those mistakes,” said secondary and special ED major Olivia Alexandar. Regardless of the bumps in the road, the Education Department at Grove City does a phenomenal job of equipping their students with the necessary tools and resources to teach a class and teach it well. By jumping into the classroom right off the bat, the students have an ample amount of resources to use come graduation and are able to decide which level of education suits them best.
Grove City College is not like other colleges, but you probably already know that. And if you do not already know that, then you most likely have at least heard this from someone if you were talking to them about the College. The campus that I have called my home for a significant portion of the last three, going on four, years of my life is one that along with its worldview being based in Christianity also accordingly displays its commitment to the sense of traditional family values and relationship/fellowship between friends and loved ones. One of the ways that Grove City puts this convention into play is the way that it handles breaks.
There is a little saying at Grove City College that goes: “Ring by Spring.” This “motto” refers to a stereotype that Grovers have a peculiar desire to get engaged to someone before they finish their final semester of college. Another stereotype that is based on the same idea is that some women at Grove City seek to receive an “MRS” degree upon graduation. Regardless of the validity of these perceptions of Grove City’s students (I myself know of a decent amount of classmates that have already tied the knot), it is something that can be pondered and analyzed for good purpose. A truly distinct class that our college offers is Jim Thrasher’s Courtship and Marriage. The title may be a little intimidating for students not currently enrolled, but speaking as someone who is taking the class this semester, I can attest that it’s certainly a “don’t judge a book by its cover” situation.
