Four Fellows were featured in the Cit Pat’s January 28 article on the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Woodrow Wilson Michigan Teaching Fellows who are now doing their clinical preparation at Jackson High Schoolin Jackson, MI.

Matt Oney with a JHS student. Photo: Shelby Mack, Jackson Citizen Patriot.

Dr. Oney, a plant biologist, is now in the middle of a year of field work at Jackson High School that’s intertwined with his master’s-level teaching preparation. He and three colleagues–chemist Ben Weaver, molecular biologist Clinton Bartholomew, and physicist Damian Kahn–are all doing their WKKF-WW Fellowships at Michigan State University.

In speaking with reporter Leanne Smith, the Fellows all emphasized how important it was to them to work with students who might not otherwise get a strong science background. “I want to help teach kids so they’ll be better prepared when they get to college,” Mr. Khan told the reporter. Dr. Bartholomew echoed the sentiment: “I can make a larger difference and a much greater impact at the high school level.”

Dr. Gail Richmond, who directs the Fellowship program at MSU, notes that “the entire staff [at Jackson HS] have been so happy

with these four Fellows and the MSU Fellowship’s support that the principal asked the newspaper to come and do a story.” The principal, Barbara Baird-Pauli, told the Cit Pat that having the four Fellows on board was a “golden opportunity” for her school.

Schools like Jackson HS need committed STEM professionals to teach their kids. What do you think it takes to get first-rate scientists and mathematicians like these four Fellows into the schools that need them most–and why don’t more make that choice?

The Skomps married before graduating—she in December 2011, he in May 2012—and were both named Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows in June 2012. Since then they’ve been pursuing their teacher preparation together. Both John and Jordan are currently doing their clinical placements, essentially a year-long pre-teaching experience, at Indianapolis’ well-known Harshman Magnet Middle School for Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and World Languages.

So far, according to the IUPUI story, the Skomps give their clinical work as Fellows high marks:

“This has been an awesome experience,” Jordan said of student teaching. “I’m really beginning to learn what it means to be a good teacher and to better understand classroom dynamics.”

“It’s all about confidence,” John added. “You also need to set good boundaries in your class, because students are less likely to test those boundaries if you make it clear what is acceptable.”

Read the full IUPUI post here.

Have a look at Sheila’s 90-second commentary below:

Teachers–have you mentored folks who are new to the classroom? Did you have a mentor whose advice you still rely on, and if so, what was that advice?