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-- Sharon Feiman-Nemser
Since coming here to Moravian, I have undertaken two field experiences as a step towards learning to become a teacher. My first experience was during the spring of 2008. I had the great opportunity to work with the fifth-graders at Hanover Elementary of Bethlehem School District in Mr. E Bethel's classroom. There, I worked with students individually and was fortunate enough to be able to witness the great class management and co-teaching Mr. Bethel and his collegue, Mrs. P Schwartzman, displayed. As a team, the two dedicated themselves to exceeding the standards set out for their fifth-graders by the state and district, contributing to Hanover's continuing reputation for excellence as a National Blue Ribbon School. The students of Mr. Bethel's class were a pleasure to work with and I have confidence that each one of them is currently succeeding in middle school. As for me, the most important thing I walked away with is learning the importance of having high expectations in your students because they need your support and belief in order to contruct their own.
For my second field experience, I am currently at 
Freedom High School, which is also within the Bethlehem School District. The field experience is particularly interesting because I have never worked with students at the secondary level. However, the interaction I have had confirms my desire to study both elementary and secondary English education. I am currently working in two English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classrooms with two different cooperating teachers, Mrs. D Colom and Mrs. S Donnelly. These students have given me much insight into the difficulty of struggling to learn a new language at that age frame. While I was a non-native speaker struggling to learn English at one point also, I underwent that process when I was only five/six years old. There is a significant difference in learning a new language at the age of five and the age of fifteen. Overall, I am learning a great deal about the flexibility required in teaching and the constant need to adapt your plans to suit the students with which you are working.
To find out more about Bethlehem School District, please visit their website by clicking on the logo to the right.
Clip arts licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com