{"id":15324,"date":"2012-12-20T10:50:53","date_gmt":"2012-12-20T15:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=15324"},"modified":"2014-08-18T15:10:35","modified_gmt":"2014-08-18T19:10:35","slug":"newly-minted-math-teacher-loves-middle-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2012\/newly-minted-math-teacher-loves-middle-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Newly Minted Math Teacher Loves Middle School"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steven Rittenhouse \u201911 recalls a student-teaching \u201caha!\u201d moment \u2013 a turning point both for himself, then an Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) undergraduate, and for a boy who dropped into his classroom during a planning period at Thomas Harrison Middle School (THMS).<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was visibly frustrated with his math homework. We worked with it together, and I helped him see he misunderstood just a small part of the assignment,\u201d says Rittenhouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce he understood and felt much better, I encouraged him to go a little further by asking him if he wanted to create his own octagonal pyramid. He agreed, and we had a great time simply using some paper, a compass, and a ruler to create a completely hand-made octagonal pyramid that he could take home to show his parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s pride in his work \u201csecured for me the excitement I have for helping young minds succeed and have self-confidence,\u201d adds Rittenhouse, now a math teacher at THMS.<\/p>\n

Rittenhouse\u2019s success has benefited from two characteristics of EMU\u2019s teacher education program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One involves sending future teachers into classrooms early. When he arrived at EMU in 2007 from Franconia, Pa., with no major selected, an advisor suggested he enroll in the \u201cExploring Teaching\u201d course. It put Rittenhouse into a classroom during his first semester of college, allowing him to discover a vocation he loved.<\/p>\n

\"EMU<\/a>
EMU education graduate Steven Rittenhouse in his classroom at Thomas Harrison Middle School in Harrisonburg, Va.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another characteristic is \u201creflective practice,\u201d which Rittenhouse notes is woven into all the education classes at EMU.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my own classroom I am constantly reflecting on what just happened yesterday, the last class period, and even the last five minutes. Reflective practice allows me to be receptive to new ways of teaching and new ways of working with ever-changing middle school students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education professor Lori Leaman<\/a> \u201988, whose influence Rittenhouse singles out, says that Steven proved to be \u201cthe type of teacher that EMU hopes to nurture and shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rittenhouse is equally complimentary of Leaman. Through role playing, she \u201cempowered us as future teachers to experiment and practice in class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaman explains that role play, which she implemented for the \u201cNeeds of Diverse Learners\u201d course, requires not only writing a lesson plan, but acting out the lesson with peers in each possible role. It allows a professor to \u201cpress the \u2018pause\u2019 button at a teachable moment to dissect what just happened, not only from an academic perspective, but from a relational perspective,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"EMU<\/a>
EMU grad Steven Rittenhouse relies on reflective practice in his teaching, which allows him to be “receptive to new ways of teaching and new ways of working with ever-changing middle school students.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBelieve it or not, college students are not only up for the \u2018risk\u2019; they embrace it. Throughout the semester, as students rotate through the roles of teacher, general education student, student with a disability, and peer teacher, they make it a goal to reach all students, not just teach a subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaman remembers watching Rittenhouse become \u201cone of our exemplary reflective practitioners.\u201d<\/p>\n

He planned to teach high school until his third year at EMU, when a course in middle-school teaching \u201cshowed me a different side to middle school than my own experience,\u201d with realization that was \u201cwhere I should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hired at THMS following his 2011 graduation, he meets five groups of students daily for classes in Math 7, pre-algebra (which combines content for grades 7 and 8), and \u201cmath support\u201d (for students needing extra help).<\/p>\n

\u201cMy students come from many different backgrounds and family styles,\u201d says Rittenhouse. \u201cI have to think about differentiating a lesson\u201d to meet their diverse needs, but the diversity is also \u201ca blessing\u201d because \u201cI can learn many things from my students, and they can learn from me and each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rittenhouse, who has lived in Harrisonburg since entering EMU, also enjoys baking, photography, electronics, learning new languages, fish-keeping, time with friends, and family visits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steven Rittenhouse \u201911 recalls a student-teaching \u201caha!\u201d moment \u2013 a turning point both for himself, then an Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) undergraduate, and for a boy who dropped into his ... read more about Newly Minted Math Teacher Loves Middle School<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":17077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,266,5594,5730],"tags":[14691,10078,11858],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-15324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-education","category-undergraduate-programs","tag-exploring-education","tag-lori-leaman","tag-steven-rittenhouse"],"yoast_head":"\nNewly Minted Math Teacher Loves Middle School - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2012\/newly-minted-math-teacher-loves-middle-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Newly Minted Math Teacher Loves Middle School - 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