(Blog 8) Stephanie Webster

            The reading for this class was Chapter 8 in the textbook, which examined “School-to-Work Transitions. I think that everyone in our cohort would agree that this is certainly something they have been thinking about, considering we only have one more year left in the program. The majority of the time when I tell people I am in education the first thing they say is along the lines of “You know it’s really had to get a teaching job right now” or “Aren’t you worried about finding work?” and often it’s “I hope you speak French”. Sometimes I find this somewhat disheartening, but I was pleasantly surprised to read, “bachelor’s degree holders in education fared better, with full-time employment rates of 77 percent”(p.241). This was much higher than I was expecting with the way people react when I tell them what I am in school for.

I found the idea of experiential learning very intriguing, especially after watching the video in class on the system that is in place for students in Switzerland. Experiential learning is defined as “a set of educational practices that involve work placements that allow the student to obtain a set of skills that can acquired through exposure to the work environment”(p. 245). This is similar to what we are experiencing in our program now where we go to university as well as participate in a practicum. I personally feel that I have benefited most and learned a great deal about teaching while on my practicum. This gives you the opportunity to use all of the theories presented in class and see what really does work first hand. The text states, “only a small percentage of post-secondary students-particularly university students-are enrolled in any form of cooperative education”(p. 246). I think that this is really too bad as there seem to be so many benefits to these types of programs.

Discussion: Do you feel that you have learned more about education and teaching from being on practicum or in our university classes?