There has always seemed to be a great deal of mystery surrounding the enigmatic Ed Block. What is it? Why is it a big deal? Why does everyone who participates seem a little frazzled, but happy?
Ed Block is the program for students who wish to become certified teachers. There are two sections, for elementary or secondary school teachers. This article focuses on the latter, though it appreciates both.
Secondary Ed Block students began work last year, but will do most of it in their senior year. Senior Alexis West appreciates that the Washington College Ed Block program “slowly phased us from student to teaching mindset.” At the end of last semester and the beginning of this semester, students were observing classes at their respective schools to get a feel for the classroom. Then, for the first six weeks of the fall semester, they studied General Methods everyday from 8:30-4:30 p.m.
“People sometimes walk by the classroom and see us just ‘sitting there’ for eight hours, but it’s eight hours,” West points out. Remember that dull feeling everyone gets in high school, herding from class to class all day long? This is not to say that General Methods is boring, but consider that it takes place in one small classroom for a full day, and can be taxing. “We’re lucky that we like each other,” they commonly joke.
Monday and Thursday sessions were shortened because of the nighttime course on Special Methods, which taught content specific to everyone’s subject matter. Academies were every Friday.
For these mock-classes, everyone prepared and taught a lesson for a set amount of time. This lesson falls within the subject they intend to teach. For instance, seniors Juliana Mathieu and Becky Streaker (English) would teach grammar and short stories, senior Kay May (science) would focus on protons and neutrons, and seniors Todd Green and Alexis West (math) would dive into algebra or differential equations.
Meanwhile, the other students acted as middle or high school students would. They could refuse to participate, or ask too many questions, or not pay any attention. These are serious situations that “simulate pedagogy and management skills,” explains senior Dave Melnick. Adolescents will act in a number of ways, and a teacher needs to be prepared for what will come.
And that begins now. Starting this past Monday, the students became official interns at local schools. Some began by teaching multiple classes immediately, while others continued to observe and will begin in the next week or so. Either way, it’s the real deal. Ed Block students are in Maryland schools for the entire day, from 7:30 a.m. until the last bell rings. “This is our job. We’re not students anymore,” Mathieu simply states.
Additional stress comes from other standard obligations that every college student must face. For example, senior Mindy Rosso said, “We’re so busy with Ed Block. It’s really hard because I’m writing a thesis and am the president of French Club.” This is the detail that many people tend to forget: the students in Ed Block still have to complete Senior Capstone Projects. While Elementary Education students will complete their program with a degree in Human Development, Secondary Education students will have a certification to teach, plus a degree in their specialized subject areas. There is no thesis or comprehensive exam that students must complete for the program. Instead, they’ll keep a portfolio detailing what they’ve learned, and so forth.
Everyone agrees that the best part of the program is the friendship within Ed Block. Melnick notes that, as the students are in class together for long hours, they come to “know each other really intimately, and commiserate and celebrate the same things.” Streaker emphasizes the “camaraderie [within] this community of people who understand what we’re going through.”
It’s important to have such a firm network of supportive friends within the program because people outside of Ed Block don’t always understand how much work it entails. Many of the student interns believe that their friends are at least supportive of this responsibility, but all agree that “no one else understands exactly, ” as Mindy Rosso said.
They assert that they aren’t elite, just incredibly busy, and are often together because of the similarly tight schedules.
If Ed Block is so wearying and time-consuming, why would anyone wish to continue? Perhaps May best sums up the argument: “Although it takes up a lot of time, we enjoy what we’re doing.”
“We’re a good group,” said senior Kristine Komorowski.
Despite late nights and less-than-perfect social calendars, it’s this positive attitude that will give these future educators success, wherever they may teach.
300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 | 410-778-2800 | 800-422-1782