This morning, instead of heading to Granite State College, GSC’s President paid a visit to a different kind of education institution: Bow Elementary School!
Dr. Todd Leach, along with fellow college and university presidents across New Hampshire, joined young children in classrooms around the state for Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a world-record-breaking campaign in which adults and children nationwide will read the same book on the same day to establish the largest group of people ever to collectively read the same story on a single date.
This year Jumpstart’s featured book is the New York Times bestselling children’s book, Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by David Soman and Jacky Davis.
The purpose of this event is to shine a national spotlight on America's early education achievement gap and to highlight Jumpstart's programs as a way to address this crisis. It’s a goal that GSC certainly understands.
In our School of Education, the teacher preparation programs focus in on the critical shortage areas that exist in education, which includes our early childhood education major.
GSC is proud to support Jumpstart’s mission through Read for the Record and proud to contribute by empowering future educators in our undergraduate degree programs and post-baccalaureate programs for teacher education.
On a personal note...
As a Jumpstart alumni, I was excited to learn that the New Hampshire College and University Presidents were going to participate in 2012's Read for the Record and it was a pleasure to help coordinate on behalf of GSC! I did three terms of service while I was earning my bachelor's degree and even have some photos to prove it (note the "vintage" Jumpstart blue from 7 years ago!).
-Jacqui Lantagne
Marketing Specialist, Granite State College
Jumpstart Corps Member and Team Leader, 2004-2007
It was an eventful weekend as my new little granddaughter was born. Yes, the sewing machine came out and I was sewing up a storm to make her a new little dress. My son has two boys so it was such a nice surprise to be blessed with a girl. They are all blessings when they come and they are blessing watching them grow. Each year a new discovery, new challenges, new futures for these little ones. Happy days, truly happy days.
I had one daughter of my own that wanted to be a teacher at one point. She wanted to teach kindergarten as she thought it would be a profession that she would enjoy. Granite State College offers an early childhood education major or post-baccaluareate teacher certification, if being a teacher is your dream. Going to college is such a great experience no matter what age you are or what stage you are in your life. You learn the value of an education just by embracing all it has to offer, all your classmates sharing the same dream. Anything is possible if you really want it. Do you want it?
I have been teaching at Granite State for over 5 years and I marvel at the people who attend early childhood education classes. You do not have to be working in a day care center to take courses in Early Childhood. You might be a paraprofessional in a high school working with a special needs child. Maybe you work in a government office but are interested in children and are thinking of a career change. One student was a successful businessman who taught Sunday School and wanted to spend more time learning about children. Each person brings their own interests and experiences to the classroom. They offer each other support and ideas that are based on what they have done in the field, as parents, or in their hobbies and travels. If you are thinking of taking early childhood classes, or even starting an early childhood education degree at Granite State, but are worried that you do not have experience in the field, don't worry, you will learn from others and you will be amazed at all that you have to offer as well.
I am interested in your opinion of online education. Granite State College offers many courses on line. They have many online education, early childhood certification, and elementary education degree courses now online. So I am wondering what you think of an online model in the field of education?
I recently taught the same course in both a face to face and an online format at Granite State College. The course was for Early Childhood Education Majors. I have asked students in the class for their feedback on the course materials including books, videos, discussions and forums. Those students who took the course face to face seemed less interested in the book and more interested in the discussions. Those students who took the course online were very impressed with the book and the videos. They enjoyed the posts of classmates to forums, but rated the book more highly. So I am asking your opinion of the online education experience. Is it a good way to gain an education? Do you think you get the same overall experience? Are there things that are missing in one format or the other that we should build in to the face to face or online models? Stay tuned to see what people are saying about online education.
In a recent class for the early childhood education major at GSC's Rochester NH college campus, we were talking about family strengths. One of those strengths revolved around encouragement and setting a good example. If parents are not only telling children that they care about how they do in school, but are also demonstrating the importance of school by taking a course they might need for work, or starting a new degree in an area that you have always been interested in is the prime way to set the example and encourage your children to value education. Consider taking courses in early childhood for your Early Childhood Certification, or maybe courses in project management, towards a Masters Degree in Project Management, or special education teacher certification. Try showing how much you value education, by getting involved yourself in either online adult education classes or face-to-face courses. Your children will learn from your example.
General Education Requirements - GenEds - are a part of every college degree be it associates or bachelors, Management or Early Childhood Education. English, math, computer, communications, and Critical Thinking are the 5 core GenEd courses required at
Granite State College. Other requisite GenEds are in the areas of Arts & Culture, Literature & Ideas, History & Politics, Science, Global Perspectives, and Social Science. Why are students required to take these courses? What purpose do they serve the major? How quickly can they be taken to just get them out of the way?
I hear similar questions frequently from the students I advise and do not always know how to respond. I cringe however when I hear myself saying "Intro to Sociology is offered in
Portsmouth this term. You could take it now to get your social science GenEd out of the way." Ouch! Does that mean if you aren't a Behavioral Science major and don't need Intro to Sociology for your major that it isn't an important class? Of course not! So I am trying not to say that any more and instead encourage students to use their GenEd choices to take classes that sound interesting or subjects they have never studied before. I want to tell students to use these classes to enrich their lives, gain understanding of topics outside the focus of their degree, find interests and talents that they never knew they had and, most of all, savor the learning experience. GenEds round out any degree and enable us to pursue subjects that are sometimes outside our comfort zone or to enhance the degree in creative ways. GenEd courses should be chosen thoughtfully and not taken just get it out of the way...
More on this topic in future posts.
Just a note to remind all about our upcoming Student Activities Committee meeting on Feb. 18 from 4:30-5:30pm at the Rochester Regional Center. I am anxious to see how many students will turn out for the first meeting. I often hear from students in our region that they would love to connect with eachother more outside of the classroom. We have also invited alumni to attend this meeting and we are putting the word out to all students that this type of opportunity to engage with the college is available. Lena Grenier is the student responsible for pulling the group together and suggested the idea after a recent Rochester photoshoot. What a great way to start student initiatives to make our non-residential campus feel more like a learning community! Typically, Business, Behavioral Science Classes and classes for Early Childhood Education are our most popular majors-- so I'm hoping those groups turn out next Thursday!
See you there!
Nicole
This morning, instead of heading to Granite State College, GSC’s President paid a visit to a different kind of education institution: Bow Elementary School!
The purpose of this event is to shine a national spotlight on America's early education achievement gap and to highlight Jumpstart's programs as a way to address this crisis. It’s a goal that GSC certainly understands.
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