“Selling education is important” says Mr. Santy.

On January 24, our advisory was introduced to Mr. Santy. For the next semester, Mr. Santy will be joining our advisory as a student teacher. He is a college student at UW-Stevens Point studying Social Studies Education. He wanted to finish his last semester in Rhinelander. By coming to NCSS, he can have a hands-on experience in the classroom, seeing the different ways students learn and getting the hang of teaching.

What exactly is a student teacher? They are a college or graduate student who is teaching under a certified teacher to qualify for a degree in education. Mr. Santy explained it as starting out slow, learning the trade, and taking steps to eventually take over the top position. He doesn’t get paid, and he’s still paying tuition. This is quite a commitment just to get a teaching degree. He’s basically paying to work for five months.

Before going back to school, Mr. Santy was in sales and worked for a truck brokerage company. He didn’t like what he was selling, so he went home and thought about what he can sell that everyone needs in life. “Education” came to his mind. So he put his notice in at work, and began going to college.

Having a student teacher in our advisory will have many advantages. Our regular teacher will still be there, so now we have two people able to help us if we ask. A lot of our instruction doesn’t come from lecture, so we basically have two teachers that can move around the room and work with us on our individual projects. Also, he can get our school more out in the community. If he tells somebody what he has been doing here, the word will get around. I think it will be a great learning experience for everyone, especially Mr. Santy. He will be able to see how our charter and project-based school work.

Mr. Santy said to me, “Learning is connected to options, more options in life, and the happier people will be if you got a good education.”