Learning about learning
By Susan Hayes
Federal Programs Coordinator
Hartselle City Schools’ career tech programs are designed to prepare students for careers as engineers, medical professionals, financial industry professionals and more. When we think about careers beyond schooling, however, it’s easy to forget careers in the field of education.
Nanette Edde’s Education and Training classes grow future educators. Beginning students focus on the role of the teacher, teaching and learning processes, learning styles and human growth/development.
Coursework culminates in a student internship in one of Hartselle’s schools. The internship allows students to spend quality time in elementary classrooms. Before one college dollar is ever spent, Education and Training students can determine whether the call to teach is one they are willing to answer.
Olivia Godsey began teaching at Crestline Elementary in August 2020, and Olivia Reeder has recently been hired to finish the school year at F.E. Burleson Elementary. Both of these young professionals were educated and nurtured by Edde in the fledgling years of her Education and Training program. They are the first graduates of the HHS program to return to Hartselle and find employment within the school district.
Godsey recalls that as she moved through high school, “my heart was leaning toward teaching.” She said when she had the opportunity to use the skills she had gained from Edde’s classroom to “interact with younger students in their classrooms, I knew for sure that teaching had my whole heart.” Godsey adds that it was under Edde’s tutelage that she began to truly understand the value of teacher-student relationships and their impact on learning. As a result, she works to build relationships with the students in her Crestline classroom.
Reeder said she has always known she wanted to teach, but she “learned the most about being a teacher while in the elementary classrooms” as part of Edde’s Education and Training program. “Every teacher I observed at Hartselle truly cared about students and their learning. These teachers provided engaging lessons for all students. I hope to carry this into my own Burleson classroom!”
Edde herself is thrilled to see her students grow into young professionals. “I am so proud of these girls!”
Edde’s program and all of Hartselle City Schools’ programs align with its mission to “Inspire and Prepare ALL Students for Learning, Leadership and Life.”
