Role Reversal
Bishop Ahr students take over the classrooms as teachers for a day
By Scott Alessi
Staff Writer
EDISON — Stefanie Marrs, a senior at Bishop George Ahr High School, has aspirations of one day becoming a teacher. After spending a day in the shoes of her religion teacher Susan Williamson, however, Marrs discovered that being at the head of the class is not as easy as it looks.
“It’s much harder than I thought it would be,” said Marrs. “It’s very nerve-wracking. You have to be prepared and be sure you have enough to cover the whole class period.”
Marrs was one of many students to take part in Bishop Ahr’s annual “Teacher for a Day” program Feb. 1, a Catholic Schools Week tradition. Teachers and their pupils had an opportunity to switch places for the day, giving students a chance to run the school.
Marrs took over Williamson’s senior religion classes on Christian lifestyles to teach the day’s planned lesson on relationships and living a single adult life. She gave a PowerPoint presentation on the stages of relationship development and even sent her fellow students home with an assignment, although the project was designed by Williamson.
Across the hall, Nancy Kennedy’s freshman Scripture class was being taught not by one student, but by three. Seniors Sean Fagan, Lauren Massucci and Lauren Sammons put together a unique lesson for the class, dividing students into three teams and having them compete to answer questions about Hebrew Scriptures. While the approach was unusual, the freshmen responded well and Kennedy was impressed.
“They have expanded the lesson plan beyond me,” Kennedy said. “They’re more creative in getting the lesson together and it has inspired me to try to keep up.” Kennedy’s student teachers discovered that taking over the class would not come without its share of difficulties, however, including getting their peers to show them the same respect that a normal teacher would receive.
“They see us as students too, so they didn’t take us seriously as teachers at first,” explained Massucci. “As it went on, they realized our intentions were good and we’re trying to have a little fun with them, so they listened to us in the end.”
Fagan added that using an interactive format where the students would work together was helpful in getting them interested in the lesson. “I found out that if you get them in groups and interacting with each other, they’ll learn a lot more and have a lot of fun,” he said.
According to Williamson, the Teacher for a Day program offers students like Marrs an opportunity to find out if they want to pursue a career in education. “It gives them exposure to the world of teaching,” she said. “It’s a fun day, but they also get to learn and to see how things are on the other side of the desk.”
Kennedy added that the students gain a new appreciation for the work that goes into preparing a lesson. “They realize there is really a lot to the mechanics of the school,” she said. “If a class is going to be learning effectively, there’s a lot that goes into it.”
In addition to preparing enough material to teach the class, Marrs found that one of the greatest challenges was encouraging students to also participate in the lesson. “It’s hard to get all the students involved,” Marrs said. “You just have to be outgoing. Share your experiences with the students and relate to them in whatever way you can.”
Although the experience showed her the challenges of teaching, it also helped to convince Marrs that she wants to continue on her planned career path. “I have a newfound respect for teachers,” she said.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law