FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n
Tuesday, October 5, 2021<\/p>\n
STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tuesday, Oct 5, is World Teachers\u2019 Day, and there\u2019s no place Tarleton senior education major Rebecca Tuggle would rather spend it than in the classroom.<\/p>\n
The 2021 theme is \u201cTeachers at the Heart of Education Recovery,\u201d reflecting educators\u2019 often heroic efforts in the pandemic.<\/p>\n
World Teachers\u2019 Day was conceived by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in 1994. The day provides the occasion to celebrate the teaching profession worldwide, take stock of achievements and draw attention to the voices of teachers who are at the heart of efforts to attain the global education target of leaving no one behind.<\/p>\n
A participant in the Texas Education Agency\u2019s Vetted Teacher Residency program, Rebecca is spending her senior year with kindergarten students in Stephenville.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love teaching. I love kids and pouring into them, and getting to see them get better each day,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m a kindergarten resident right now, so my babies are young. It\u2019s the first time away from Mom and Dad, their first experience at school. I love getting to be that first contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca knew early that she wanted to be a teacher. During her fourth- and fifth-grade years in elementary school, she was frequently sick and absent from class. \u201cI was a good student and didn\u2019t want to make up my absences going to Saturday school, so my teachers worked it out so I could tutor students who were struggling in math or English, language and reading.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turns out she was a natural.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved it. I was able to identify what they were struggling with and help them. Getting to see that light come on in their eyes really made me want to become a teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I got older I kind of zeroed in on what age I want to teach. I\u2019ve always loved little kids. Kindergarten through second grade is my sweet spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Tarleton Rebecca made the prestigious Presidential Honors program with a perfect 4.0 GPA before receiving her residency this academic year.<\/p>\n
Under the watchful eye of a cooperating teacher, residents get four days a week of on-the-job training for an entire year, a big shift from traditional student teaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am at the school Monday through Thursday,\u201d Rebecca said. \u201cI get there about 7:15 in the morning and leave between 4:30 and 5. I teach the students every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Vetted Teacher Residency includes 14 Texas educator preparation schools that offer high-quality teacher residencies. It was established to help school districts acquire state and federal grants.<\/p>\n
The residency pairs a teacher candidate with a mentor teacher for a year. Tarleton residents satisfy their clinical teaching requirements by co-teaching in a K-12 classroom for at least three days a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Vetted Teacher Residency program helps support the efforts of our teacher candidates, allowing them to take advantage of experienced classroom mentors on their way to a career in education,\u201d said Dr. Karen Murray, Tarleton Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.<\/p>\n
Each Friday Rebecca returns to the Tarleton campus for class with other residents in the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a community,\u201d she said, \u201cso we can talk about what\u2019s going on in each of our classrooms and in each others\u2019 lives. We give each other advice and support.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s in the home stretch of her college education, expecting to graduate in May with certification to teach students in kindergarten through sixth grade.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of work, a lot of assignments,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it\u2019s really transitioning us from being college students to teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing and nowhere she\u2019d rather be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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