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This fall, Bluefield College Teacher Education seniors are finishing their studies at BC by experiencing what it’s actually like to teach in a classroom setting.

Autumn Arnold

December 5, 2012

Thanks to a longstanding partnership with local secondary schools, BC’s future schoolteachers are gaining vital hands-on experience and training from current educators through a semester of student-teaching in local classrooms.

Often described as the most rewarding aspect of teacher licensure training at Bluefield College, the student-teaching component provides "in the classroom" experiences for BC senior teacher education majors, who work and learn alongside educators who have been in an actual classroom setting for many years.

Bluefield College students who have graduated from the Teacher Education Program and experienced student-teaching have described the training as one of the most influential and beneficial parts of their learning experience. The actual experience of handling the classroom with the help and guidance of an experienced educator, they say, is invaluable.

“Student-teaching is like gardening,” said May 2012 graduate Emily Minter. “You plant the seeds, wait for the sprout, pull up the weeds, water, and care for the tender plant. The work is hard, but the rewards are well worth all the toil and effort.”

Current BC students say that student-teaching provides an opportunity for them to put the different theories and teaching strategies they’ve learned in the college classroom to practice in an actual teaching setting.

“It’s such a wonderful experience,” said senior education major Bethany Liddle about student-teaching at Springville (VA) Elementary. “I love getting up every day and going to school. I can’t wait to have my own classroom.”

Liddle, the daughter of Mark andElizabeth Liddle of Galax, Virginia, is a graduate of Grayson County (VA) High School. In addition to her teacher licensure studies at BC, she has served as president of the Student Government Association, a member of the Student Virginia Education Association (SVEA), and has been named often to the Academic Dean’s List.

Joining Liddle in the classroom this fall at various local schools are Teacher Education students Kelsey Arthur, Matthew Hall, and Ethan Lewis. Arthur, the daughter of Greg and Lisa Arthur, is student-teaching at Rocky Gap (VA) Elementary School and Bland (VA) Elementary School. A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, she graduated from Jefferson Forest High School. At BC, she is a member of SVEA and Alpha Delta sorority.

Hall, the son of Bobby and Karen Hall, is student teaching at Graham Intermediate School and Dudley Primary School, both in Bluefield, Virginia. A native of Powhatan, Virginia, Hall graduated from Powhatan High School and is a member of BC’s SVEA. He also has earned frequent placement on Bluefield’s Academic Dean’s List.

Lewis, son of David and Betsy Lewis, is also from Powhatan, Virginia, and is student teaching at Graham Intermediate School and Dudley Primary School in Bluefield, Virginia. A native of Powhatan, Lewis has served as president of SVEA been the SVEA and has been named often to the BC Academic Dean’s List. He also is a member of the Rams varsity baseball team.

Endorsed by the Virginia Department of Education and nationally accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC), BC's Teacher Education Program offers undergraduate programs for teacher licensure in elementary and secondary education, special education, art, health and physical education, music, biology, business, chemistry, English, history, information technology, mathematics, and social sciences.

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